Moving On
by Rave-at-Midnight
Summary: Roxas and Sora lived an ideal life until tragedy strikes and they are forced to find a new home. Nothing is easy for the two of them, but will they be able to move on? Akuroku. Some Soriku, Zemyx, MarNami, Hayner/Seifer. Yaoi. Rated M to be safe.
1. Prologue

**A/N: Collaboratively written. ****This the first official chapter for the fanfic, and we hope you like it. Reviews are very much appreciated and new chapters will be published as soon as we get them written.**

_**Disclaimer: We do not own any of these characters. **_

Roxas was the last one to wake up that morning. He groaned as the incessant sound of birds flooded in through the window, and he was seriously tempted to throw something. That was the only thing he didn't like about mornings, the birds came all the way out just to bug him and his neighbors for a few hours. He rolled onto his side and checked the clock. In a little more than a week he'd have to wake up earlier then this for school. After another minute of lying in bed, the blonde began his morning routine.

He walked down the stairs towards the small kitchen where a woman stood, her brown hair held back with a red hair tie. She was chatting lightly, a phone pressed between her shoulder and her ear.

"Hey sweetie," She called to him, and he smiled lightly.

"Morning mom," He replied, pulling out a chair and sitting down at the table. "Who are you on the phone with?" The woman looked over her shoulder.

"It's just your father; he had to get a few things from the store for breakfast. Pancakes are on the table, if you want any." She said, before walking into the other room to finish her phone call. Roxas nodded and put some on his plate, when his brother came down the stairs. He yawned and pushed his brown hair out of his face.

"Couldn't you have been a little quieter?" He groaned as he stumbled on a step. "I could have gotten at least another five minutes of sleep."

"Whatever Sora, just eat" The blonde sighed, rolling his eyes. Sora stuck his tongue out, and pulled out his own chair to sit down. The front door unlocked and a tall man with blonde hair, similar to Roxas' walked in, carrying bags.

"Aerith! I got the groceries!" He yelled from the door, and walked into the kitchen, greeting his sleepy sons. "Hey boys, it's nice to see you up." Sora looked up at his father, and nodded, face full of pancakes. The other two laughed.

"I've got a bunched planned for the four of us to do today, since it's the last day before I go back to work." Their father had planned to take the week off from work and spend some time with his wife and kids, but his company was calling him back sooner then he'd hoped. Still, quality family time wasn't exactly the two boy's idea of fun.

"What's in the box, Dad?" Roxas asked, halfway through of chewing. The older blonde chuckled, "A surprise. When you're all done eating, come in the living room, ok?" And with that, he walked away with a cheeky grin. Roxas merely shrugged in response, continuing to eat.

A few minutes later, Aerith rounded them all up in the living room where Cloud had set up a few DDR mats. The brothers' eyes widened, they certainly didn't expect something like this from their usually stern father. Their mother excused herself to go get drinks and snacks, while their father hopped onto one of the mats and exclaimed, "So, who's first?"

The thin brunette walked back into the room, setting down a tray of various foods on the table. She laughed and clapped lightly at the sight of her husband and youngest son flailing wildly on the mats. Sora simply sat back and grabbed a soda, chuckling to himself at how ridiculous they looked.

At first the boys were reluctant to join but eventually, they had all had a few turns and were feeling a bit exhausted, so they decided to watch a movie. Suddenly, the room started to shake gently. Knick knacks shook on the shelves, windows rattled, and a can of soda fell off the table. A few moments later, the entire house shook violently.

Aerith screamed when a large crack appeared in the wall. She quickly ran into the next room, while Cloud roughly grabbed his son's arms and ran up the stairs. The walls were starting to crumble badly and the roof was caving in. The three raced outside, panting. Cloud did a quick head count, and noticed Aerith wasn't there.

"Stay here, I'm going back in." He demanded running back into the collapsing house. The two brothers yelled for him to come back, insisting it wasn't safe, but he didn't listen. As soon as they lost sight of their father, the biggest shock wave yet ripped through the area, causing their house to completely collapse on itself.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-

The two brothers didn't want to leave the hospital or their parents. But Aerith and Clouds were no longer patients, they were dead, so there was no reason for two perfectly healthy teens to stay lurking around the emergency room. They spoke to Sora first. A woman in a dark skirt and jacket walked up, a badge with the label social services printed on in bold letters under her name and began to explain what was about to happen. Legally there was no reason to do anything but apologize for his loss. He was eighteen and he would be fine on his own. Roxas however was still a minor and if there were no plans, they needed to call social services. Sora panicked, which lead to some yelling and cursing from Sora and a formal request to take the argument outside, by hospital staff. Sora was ready to start again, but Roxas stood up calmly.

"We have an aunt you can call." He said, only half lying. Yuffie was close enough to their mother to be sister, but they weren't. They hadn't seen her in four years, since the family had left Destiny Island. And Roxas assumed they weren't there anymore either. Still his mother had the number programmed under emergency contacts in both boys' phones. "You can call her. I'm sure she'll take us for a day or two." Roxas continued, hoping his lie wouldn't fall through on him. Both of them hoped, actually. Sora might be legal, but he probably couldn't support himself, without help. The woman looked him over, her eyes lingering on his, looking for some trace of deception. His expression remained blank, even as he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and handed it to her.

"I'll call then," She said, flipping up the boy's phone and after a few seconds of scrolling, copying down the woman's number. "You both should wait here; this shouldn't take more than a few minutes."

But like most things in a hospital, it took a lot longer than expected. The woman came back and told us that she was on her way from Radiant Gardens. She told the two they would need to move the front lobby of the hospital and wait with her there until Yuffie arrived, which was in about a two hours. She ran through the glass doors, her eyes red, and tackled Sora, who was closer to the door. She looked at Roxas, and motioned for him to come over. She wrapped both of them into a hug, her thin arms hardly getting around both boys.

Roxas felt numb, he couldn't believe how quickly the entire event happened, and that his parents were gone. Insecurity flooded his thoughts. Where would they live? How would they support themselves? What about school? He tried in vain to blink back tears.

"Oh…I'm so sorry about all this…" Yuffie sobbed softly, hugging the boys tightly. The social worker walked over, pulling Yuffie aside to talk. The boys' "aunt" convinced the social worker to let them go with her, and they walked silently to her car. Sora fell asleep rather quickly, exhausted from the stress and grief. Roxas, however, was still too wired from the adrenaline to sleep.

The car trip was uneventful, save for a few bouts of sobbing along the way. They arrived at Yuffie's apartment, still upset. She led them into the living room, and told them to sit down. Roxas moved towards the couch and sat down by himself, but Sora lurked around her sitting closer to her. She gave both of us a watery smile and began to cry again.

"I hate to put any more stress on you boys, but…" Yuffie choked, still sobbing, "But my flight leaves tomorrow afternoon and I don't know if the social worker would want you staying here by yourselves…" The brothers looked at each other worriedly. They had nowhere else to go. She looked at her phone for a minute and go up. "Be right back, I need to make a phone call" She said in a rather determined voice, and she excused herself from the room. When she returned much later, she looked stressed but had a small, sad smile on her face. "Well, I explained the situation to Riku, and he said he'd be happy to have you two live with him as long as you need to." Roxas sighed, relieved feeling that at least they had some sort of stability now. Sora, on the other hand, felt even sicker to his stomach than before. Yuffie insisted the two stay the night in her apartment, and that they'd go find some clothing for them along with anything that survived the earthquake tomorrow before they moved in with Riku.


	2. Moving In

**Roxas POV**

I figured the reuniting of the three of us would be at least a little pleasant. I wasn't expecting hugs and crying, but I didn't think it would be this painfully awkward. When Riku opened the door to his small two bedroom apartment, he and Sora wouldn't even look at each other.

"Hey guys, sorry about your-" He started but Sora just pushed past him with his bags. I didn't move though, just because Sora was going to be rude to the only person giving us a roof over our heads, didn't mean I was going to.

"Sorry Riku, I guess he's still pissed about whatever the hell happened way back when. Thanks for letting us stay," I explained, looking down. Riku sighed but smiled anyway.

"It's fine. He's just upset about your parents." He said kindly, grabbing a few of the other bags. I nodded and followed him inside.

"Yeah, that's it." I said.

Riku led us into a small bedroom, outfitted with two twin-sized beds, a closet, and a dresser. It wasn't much, but I was just grateful to have a roof over my head. I put down my bags by one of the beds, and walked back out into the living room.

Sora was leaning against a wall, arms crossed, and a scowl on his face. Riku had decided to give him some space, and was in the kitchen cooking lunch. "Hey Riku, need any help?" I smiled, walking toward him.

"Nah, I'm good. Why don't you and Sora go get unpacked?" He smiled, still cooking.

I nodded, walking back to my and Sora's new room. "C'mon Sora, let's go get unpacked." He groaned in response, before begrudgingly following me. I shut the door behind us and asked, "What's your deal? Riku's being really nice letting us live here." I frowned, wondering why he was acting so strangely. Of course I missed mom and dad, but that's no reason to treat Riku so terribly.

Sora rolled his eyes and began unzipping suitcases. He opened a few of the plastic drawers and unloading his clothes.

"It'd be a lot easier to appreciate what he was doing for us, if Yuffie hadn't forced him to." He mumbled. I didn't bother giving him an answer. I had no idea why he was so bitter toward the boy, but it wasn't worth arguing.

We unpacked for about another fifteen minutes while the scent of Riku's cooking filled the room. I looked at Sora, waiting to see if he wanted to eat. He got up and shuffled out of the room towards the kitchen. I smiled, glad that something brought him out of the tiny room without force. Still, lunch was eaten in an awkward silence.

"So, is there anything else you guys need before tomorrow?" Riku asked me, as we cleaned up. Sora had retreated back to the room and was probably either unpacking or moping.

"Um…Not really," I said quietly, coming up about a foot short to Riku. "I thought I may run to mall and get some more blankets or something, but I can take the bus."

"Okay, be careful." Riku teased, waving me off. I smiled, closing the door behind me. I wandered down the hall and stepped into the elevator. The elevator dinged softly, and I walked into the lobby. It was a quaint little area. The receptionist's desk was toward the center of the room, and small tables and couches lined the perimeter.

I waited for the bus for what seemed like an eternity, before it finally stopped and opened its doors. I paid the fare and sat down on a somewhat clean looking seat. Ugh, busses were always so filthy. After a few minutes, I arrived at the mall.

I wandered around aimlessly and I was starting to feel a bit lost. Sheesh, why were these stores so big? I'm definitely going to get lost in this place. I frowned, looking around for a map of some sort. I did, however, find an ice cream parlor. I smiled, and made a mental note to come back here before I left. Thankfully, there was a department store nearby.

Not paying attention, I turned around and accidentally slammed into someone. "Oof! Ah, I-I'm sorry." I stuttered, looking up at the person I'd run into. The young man was tall and thin, with a runner's build of sorts. His skin was rather pale; his eyes an acidic green with purple diamond shaped tattoos beneath them. And his spiky hair was a flaming red color. …Holy shit.  
"I'm sorry," I stuttered, awkwardly, my eyes dropping towards the ground. The red head in front of me just laughed.

"It's okay, I wasn't really paying attention either" He said with a polite smile. "So are you new around here or something?" He asked. It took me a second to realize he was asking me, considering my eyes were still glued to the floor.

"Uhh, yeah actually," I said, running a hand through my blond spikes. I raised an eyebrow at him.

"How'd you know?"

"I noticed you wandering around like you'd never step foot in this building. Or any mall this big actually."

"Oh, well, you're right. I just moved here with my brother. We're staying with an old friend for a bit…" My voice trailed off lightly, not wanting to go into more detail on the reason we were here. He tilted his head slightly, some of his red hair falling in front of one of his bright green eyes. I bit the inside of my cheek.

"Well that was nice of your friend," He said trying to lighten up the conversation. I nodded.

"Yeah, Riku's a really nice guy."

"The same Riku that lives in Radiant Apartments?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep, that's the guy." I smiled.

"Heh, cool, I've talked to him a couple times. I live in that building too."

"Nice. I'm Roxas, by the way."

"Name's Axel. Got it memorized?" The redhead smirked, winking.

I laughed lightly, feeling my cheeks heat up. Oh god, was I _blushing_? By the look on Axel's face, I probably was blushing. Damn it.

"So, Roxas, do you wanna go get ice cream or something?"

"Heh, sure. Just let me go buy this stuff and we can go." I hurriedly walked to the check outs and bought the bedding. After I'd finished paying for everything, I walked back over to where Axel was waiting.

"Ready to go?" He teased, ruffling my hair.

"Yep," I smiled.

As much as I would like to say it wasn't still awkward to be sitting at a small table in a mall, eating ice cream with a total stranger, it was. I couldn't think of anything to say, and I couldn't stop staring at him. I tried not to look up from my plain vanilla cup of ice cream, but the conversation kind of required it. Luckily he didn't notice. We talked about a bunch of random things, or well he talked and I listened. He explained that he had just graduated and was starting college next semester, or maybe the one after that. He had gone to school with Riku, although he was a year ahead of him. He had lived with another friend in the building but they had kicked him out recently and he was now renting, (a cheaper) one bedroom apartment, the floor above. When I asked him why they kicked him out, I was a bit shocked.

"You started a fire? In the apartment?" I asked, almost choking on the small pink spoon. He laughed and I couldn't help but laugh too, although mine was a bit more shaky and nervous. Maybe he was one of the creepy strangers that Sora and I were always told to stay away from when we were little.

"It wasn't on purpose. I was cooking and I left the room for not even two minutes and the whole thing was on fire." He explained "I'm not some crazy pyro or anything," He said with a wink. I could feel my face grow hot, and took a huge bite of ice cream. Ignoring the sharp pain from the cold, I managed to successfully hide any signs of blushing.

"Well you're technically not supposed to leave a stove unattended…at all." I said, smirking.

"Yeah, that's what they said."

**Sora POV**

Ugh, why did mom and dad have to die? I miss them anyway, but being stuck here with Riku is horrible. Especially after what happened when we were kids. We used to live on Destiny Islands, but moved to Twilight Town when I was 14. On the last day before we moved, Riku and I spent the day together. It was all well and good, until it was time to say goodbye. We were sitting on the beach eating ice cream. I turned to him and mumbled, "Riku…I'm really going to miss you." He frowned, "I'm gonna miss you too." My eyes began to water, and I turned away, hoping he wouldn't see. Apparently, I wasn't fast enough, because what he said next crushed me. "Don't cry, Sora. It's not like we're dating or anything." He laughed, playfully smacking my shoulder. I bit my lip, I knew the waterworks were coming, so I told him goodbye and ran back to our house.

He'd never love me back. It hurt to think about it then, but since I rarely had to see him I could deal with it. But now that Roxas and I are living with him, it's going to eat away at me every freaking day.

And that's why I hate Riku. But apparently he didn't get the hint.

"Hey sora?" He said, pushing the door open, and peaking around the doorway. "Can we talk?"

"I'd rather not." I snapped without even turning from the wall as I continued to unpack. "I appreciate you letting us stay, but I'm not in the mood to talk to anyone. It's not you," I lied, not wanting to come off as rude. But that didn't mean I didn't want him to leave me the hell alone. Riku didn't leave however; he just sighed and walked over, sitting on the bed I was unloading my clothes on to refold.

"You realize that growing up with you makes it easy for me to tell when you're lying. Just because we haven't seen each other in four years, doesn't mean I forgot how you act when you're hiding something." He explained, flashing the smile I used to love. I slammed my suitcase shut and grabbed the nearest pile of clothes, and walked over to put them in a drawer. Not even bothering to fold them neatly after being packed away hurriedly before we left.

"Riku, I'm not lying, and I don't want to talk." I insisted, AGAIN, as I moved him slightly to reach the bundle of socks behind him. He grabbed my wrist as I reached for the last pair of socks left behind. "What?" I snarled, my patience running out. My eyes dropped from his face, to his hand on my arm. I wouldn't dare to look him in the face, knowing he'd read my face easily. I attempted to pull my arm away, but Riku's grip didn't change. It as if I hadn't even tried to get away. "Just let go."

"Sora, don't be like that," He said, a hint of worry in his voice. It made me angrier.

"Be like what?" I snapped, actually pulling away this time (although I think he had loosened his grip beforehand, because this time it was much easier) "I can't be upset about what's going on?" although my voice sounded more vicious then I had intended. Riku finally looked away. He sat for a second, and took a deep breath, as if he was trying to not to hit me. I tried my hardest, not to look scared. He got up.

"Fine," He mumbled. "I'll go." He walked out of the room, and shut the door behind him (almost slamming it.) Part of me was pleased that I had gotten under his skin, and the closest thing to a smile, since we left our home, crossed my lips. I put the rest of the things away and curled up on the bed that I had claimed, and closed my eyes, hoping Riku wouldn't come to bother me when I attempted to sleep.

I groggily opened my eyes to see only an hour had passed. Apparently Roxas had gotten back at some point, because there were a couple piles of bedding strewn throughout the room. He wasn't in his bed, though, and I briefly wondered where he was before I drifted back to sleep.

"Mom!" I awoke in a cold sweat, shaking. Breathing heavily, I ran my hands through my hair.

"You okay, Sora?" Roxas sleepily asked from his bed.

"Y-yeah, I just had a bad dream…"

"I know. You were kinda talking in your sleep."

I frowned. Everything was going to be so different from now on. Mourning was natural, I knew that, but it seemed like Roxas was handling it way better than I was.

"I miss them." I mumbled sadly.

"I do too. It'll be okay though, you still have me." Roxas whispered, tip-toeing over to sit next to me.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulders, trying to cheer me up. I smiled half heartedly, hugging him back. He wandered back into his own bed a few minutes later, and I fell asleep shortly after.

Small slits of light seeped through the blinds and onto my face. I wrinkled my nose, not wanting to wake up yet. My stomach growled in anguish. I'd decided to skip dinner last night, since I didn't want to spend any time alone with Riku. I glanced over to see that Roxas was sitting up, yawning.

"'Morning." I yawned too, remembering about how mom had once said yawning was contagious.

"Hey. Feeling better?"

"Somewhat, I guess-" Before I could finish, my stomach interrupted loudly.

Roxas laughed, "Let's go grab something to eat." I begrudgingly followed him, suspecting Riku would already be up. Roxas rolled out of bed and walked towards the door, looking back at me his hand lingering on the door knob. He sighed and walked out. "Whenever you're ready," he called back to me. I dropped back down and growled into my pillow. After a few seconds, I forced myself out of bed, and hunted down a pair of sweats before following. As much as I wanted to avoid him, I was starving.

I was happy to find that the only one in the kitchen was Roxas, as he scratched his head looking in through some cabinets.

"Riku said last night at dinner, he was probably going to sleep in today, so we should just help ourselves." Roxas explained. I had realized I had slept straight through our arrival. I hadn't even acknowledged how my little brother must feel about it. I watched as he placed to bowls on the table with a box of plain cereal. I grabbed the box and filled both bowls while Roxas went to go get milk and spoons. I tried to think of something to say to him, but I was coming up short. We didn't really talk much before our parents died, he was usually with his friends and I was with mine, so it was even harder to spark a conversation. He filled my bowl with milk and handed me a spoon, sitting across the table from me and we both ate silently for a few minutes.

"So what'd you do yesterday after you left?" I asked. He had mentioned something about heading out for a bit before I passed out in bed, but I couldn't remember.

"I went to the mall, and bought some more blankets. Yours is still in the bag. I put it by your bed if you want it." He said before shoving some more cereal into his mouth.

"Oh…" I said, looking at my own cereal. It was getting soggy. "Did anything interesting happen?"

Roxas nearly choked on his cereal, dropping his spoon into the bowl, causing some milk to splash it. He coughed and got up to get a napkin. I managed to catch his wide smile before he turned away from me.

"Nope, nothing happened. Nothing at all."


	3. First Day

_A/N: Hey everyone! We've decided to try to publish a new chapter every Tuesday and Saturday. Thanks for reading! Also, we absolutely love reviews. 3_

Disclaimer: We do NOT own any of these characters or Kingdom Hearts. 

**Roxas POV**

The school I went to before this was probably larger and had more students, but I'd be lying if I wasn't intimidated by the thought of starting a new year here. At least last year I had known my peers for a year or two. But here, the only two people I knew in this school were Sora and Riku. And both of them were two grades above me, leaving me alone to stumble through my classes.

I turned to tell them good bye and I'd see them at the end of the day but the two were already arguing again. This time it was something about how Sora didn't need help finding his classes and he could figure it out himself. Two days and they still hadn't stopped bickering. Besides, we all knew he was lying. Still Riku looked a little hurt. I thought about making Riku feel better by telling him that Sora would probably end stumbling around for a while and then do what I was planning to do right now; go to the front office and ask for a school map. Yuffie had gotten our schedules for us the day before, but all they said were course names and classroom numbers. Without any other information, I had no idea where to even look.

"Can I help you?" The woman behind the front desk in the office asked. She was looking over her glasses at me smiling, but I could tell she was already tired of the first day of school. I dug through the pocket of my jeans and produced my crumbled schedule.

"I have no idea where any of these classes are," I said, sounding rather pathetic, and unfolding the paper to place in front of her. She pulled out what I assumed was a map and pushed it towards me. I reached for both papers, looking over the classrooms and hallways scribbled lazily on it. The copy was light so I had to pull it close to my face to read.

"Since it's the first day, you're going to be in homeroom for a little longer than usual, so go straight there." She replied, as if dismissing me. I didn't move. "You don't know what your homeroom is, do you?" I didn't even know what homeroom was. We never had a homeroom at my old school. She sighed, turning to her computer screen "First and last name please?"

"Roxas Strife," I recited and she keyed it into the system. She held out her hand and I handed back my schedule. She scribbled out room 131 onto the paper and reached out for my map. We switched and she circled room 131 in red.

I took my map and schedule back, mumbling a half-hearted 'thanks' to the old woman. I guess I'd figure out where to go eventually. Walking out into the hallway, I stared at my pathetic excuse for a map. Wading through the sea of teens, I eventually made it to room 131. Merely seconds before the late bell, mind you.

"Oh, looks like our new student finally got here!" An overly peppy, older woman squeaked. "Go ahead and find a desk." I grumbled to myself quietly. Hopefully everyone wasn't that…hyper. Nonchalantly, I slid into the empty desk next to a quiet blonde girl. She seemed to be preoccupied with her doodles. "Hi," she uttered softly, "I'm Naminé."

"I'm Roxas. It's nice to meet you." I smiled. The hyperactive old woman began handing out papers, although I wasn't really paying attention. "So, Roxas, what class do you have first?" She smiled sweetly. "Uhh…" I quickly checked my schedule, "I have Art first." She looked rather pleased and told me she had Art first too. At least she probably knew where the room was.

The first bell rang, and Naminé and I walked to our class. There were a few times where I looked over and thought about striking up a conversation, but she didn't really have much to say, which was fine with me. When we walked into the room, Naminé and I slide into the two seats closest to the back putting out bags on the table. Unfortunately, the teacher insisted that we all get up and have assigned seats. She waved at me, with a small smile that said "Sorry, I'd stay if I could," as she was moved to the table up front with a taller boy with dirty blonde hair, styled in an odd way. I sighed, somewhat nervous to see who all I'd be sitting with, and hoped we'd get along, but it didn't really go as planned. A taller boy wearing a blue beanie was assigned to sit across from me. As soon as he sat down, he glared at me like I had just kicked his puppy.

"The fuck you lookin' at, chickenwuss?" he spat at me.

"…Nothing." I mumbled, slightly creeped out and intimidated. What was this guy's problem?

"Better stay out of my way…or else." He seethed. I rolled my eyes and attempted to pay attention to what the teacher was saying as he started to speak. The rest of the class seemed to dragon forever. Even after the thirty minutes the teacher had been explaining the rules of the class and procedures; we got our first assignment. I still felt awkward at the table with the boy with the beanie glaring at me every time I lifted my head. I found out, mainly because the teacher had to tell him to pay attention all the time, the boy's name was Seifer and although he was a senior, wasn't acting like one. I snickered the first time he said it, but another death glare silenced me. I scribbled silently, my eyes glued to my picture, which was coming out pretty badly, waiting for the bell to ring. When it finally did, I ducked out of the room and half ran to my next class. Naminé had pointed it out on our way to art, so I just went back the way we came, slipping through the door.

I managed to make it to French II relatively quickly and was given my assigned seat. Ugh, I'm really started to hate this assigned seating thing. Hopefully, I'll be seated by someone a little friendlier this time. Everyone filed into the room, finding their new seats. When the bell finally rang there was one empty seat left. And sadly, it was the one next to me. I sighed and put my bag on the desk, to try and fill up some space around me. Roughly ten minutes after the late bell rang, a tall, slim boy with a dirty blonde mullet slid into the room. The teacher barked at him to sit in his seat next to me and continued to yell for a little longer about being punctual, and then turned to the board again. We began taking notes almost immediately.

"Hey teach," The blonde yelled to the front of the room, "Can I have a pencil?" He asked with a dorky grin.

The teacher froze mid sentence, and appeared to be shaking with anger. "Ask in French." The teacher glared, his eyes narrowing. "Can you manage something that simple?"

"Uhh…" the boy mumbled.

The teacher smirked. "That's what I thought. No pencil for you!" The most-likely-insane old man yelled. The class laughed for a second but another glare, this time for everyone, silenced them. The boy frowned and cursed under his breath.

"Here, I have an extra." I whispered, handing him a pencil, with a smile.

"Hey, thanks bro!" He grinned, punching my shoulder lightly.

The rest of the class went by uneventfully. We mostly took a lot of notes, and Demyx decided to practically chat my ear off. At least he was nice, I suppose. I couldn't think of anything to say though, so he did most of the talking. Thankfully, the lunch bell rang.

I walked into the large cafeteria, hoping to find somewhere to sit. I waited in line looking around for Sora, somewhat bored. I hoped that maybe he wouldn't mind sitting with his little brother. Then at least we wouldn't be alone. That is, until Seifer showed up out of nowhere and shoved me.

"Watch it!" I blurted out without thinking. My heart skipped a beat when I realized who I was talking to and that I was probably going to die now. He leaned over me, infuriated, his hand balled into a fist at his side. Riku showed up and put his hand on Seifer's shoulder.

"Leave him alone." He glared, dragging him away. "Thanks, Riku." I mumbled, walking over to a table. I wasn't exactly hungry anymore. I glanced over my shoulder to see Seifer flicking us off. Riku sat down next to me and smiled. "It's fine," He said as I stared at my food. "He's just a jerk." I nodded.

"How are your classes, Riku?" I asked, making an attempt to fill the silence. He probably was missing out on spending time with his friends to come and protect me and that made me feel worse. Luckily, Naminé came walking and stood by the table.

"Do you mind if I sit here?" She asked, smiling. I nodded and she sat down across from me. "Hello," She said to Riku, who was laughing silently. He flashed me a wink and Naminé and I both blushed.

"I'll leave you two alone then," He said, getting up. My eyes widened and I silently begged him not to leave. He just laughed again.

"I didn't mean to scare your friend away," She mumbled and I shook my head.

"You didn't," I said tilting my head and smiling. "He's just being a goof," I explained. This time the two of us were able to hold a decent conversation. I was actually enjoying sitting and talking with her; it was the only fun thing about my school day so far. When the bell rang, I was somewhat disappointed that we had to stop talking, and her expression mirrored how I felt. We both got up.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow, Roxas," She said in her small voice. I nodded and told her goodbye. I walked out of the cafeteria, thankful that there were only two classes left until I got to back to Riku's apartment and could relax. I was happy to see that math went by very quickly. Mainly because we only mostly took notes on the basics and went over class rules. I was having a little bit of trouble keeping up but it wasn't enough to put me too far behind. During the last five or ten minutes of class I began counting down. I kept referring to my watch to check how much time was left. And when the bell rang I was the first one out. It's not that I was excited for gym, but hopefully it would be a quick easy class. How much trouble would playing some sports for an hour and a half be?

As soon as I arrived, I saw that a chubby, balding middle-aged man was already barking orders to several students. What was up with all these crazy ass teachers? I already knew this was going to be awful, but I mentally shrugged and walked over to the group. The teacher immediately told us to go change our clothes and meet back in the gym. I rolled my eyes and followed the rest of the boys into the locker room. I changed as quickly as I could, feeling awkward in the cramped locker room, and walked out. I looked around to see who else had finished changing, but it looked like I was one of the first few. When everyone came back out and we were changed, attendance was taken, and he resumed barking orders.

"Alright, listen up, you brats!" The old man screamed, obviously not knowing how to use his "inside voice." He angrily told us we were going to play dodge ball today. I thought about this idea. It seemed pretty stupid that even in high school we'd still be playing dodge ball. But when I saw that Seifer was on the opposite team and glaring at me, I decided it was in my best interests to skip gym today, anyway.

When the coach wasn't paying attention, too busy yelling at one of Seifer's friends not to aim the ball at people's heads, I nonchalantly walked out into the hallway. After I looked around the halls to make sure they were clear and moved forward and began to walk. There wasn't much I could do, with all my stuff still in the locker room and no ride, but maybe I could just walk around or something until the last few minutes and go get it all. In my head it seemed like a decent plan, until I crashed face first into a hard chest. I looked up, shocked to see that same flaming red hair and striking acidic eyes as I did in the department store.

"Axel?" I gaped, looking up at the taller man.

"Well, hey Roxas!" He smiled, "Going somewhere?"

"I…uh…What are you doing here?" I stuttered, probably blushing already.

"Answering a question with a question? Impressive," He teased and I laughed lightly. "I coach the track team and help out with gym classes." He shrugged.

"Oh. Well, I, uh, I don't feel so good." I lied, looking at the ceiling.

"Want me to take you to the nurse or something?"

I thought seriously about rejecting the offer and going back to class, and decided that may be best if Axel was going to go see the coach. I was about to answer, but Seifer burst through the doors, nearly running me over.

"Hey chickenwuss, coach said to get your ass back in here." He sneered with an evil glint in his eyes. I gulped, unconsciously stepping slightly behind Axel. First day of school and I already have someone out to get me.

"Chill out, Seifer." Axel said in a flat tone that silenced him. "Tell coach that Roxas doesn't feel well and I'm taking him to the nurse." Seifer rolled his eyes and walked back into the gym, mumbling something, most likely about me, under his breath. I let out a small sigh of relief.

"You ok?" Axel asked, frowning.

"Y-yeah…" I nodded, turning away from the gym on my heel. I pointed down the hall way and raised an eyebrow. "To the nurse?"

We started walking toward the nurse's office, which was ever-so-conveniently located on the other side of the building. Luckily, I was the master of faking illness, so I could probably get used to skipping gym for this long pointless walk. Or maybe the teacher would just let me sit out…I could probably get a note too. I thought about this more as we walked mostly in silence. I figured it was a rather painless adventure and I was happy that there wasn't a chance for me to say something stupid. That was until Axel asked what grade I was in, and I answered honestly. He looked pretty shocked when I said I was a sophomore.

"Wait…like tenth grade?" He said, sounding rather dumbfounded. We had stopped walking so he could continue questioning me.

"Yes, like tenth grade." It seemed like an odd question "Why? What grade did you think I was in?"

"Well I just ho-" He stopped mid sentence, "I just thought you were older." He stumbled, making sure he rephrased it properly.

"Nope" I laughed, but I stopped as soon as I realized he wasn't. I looked down the hallway, spotting a door labeled nurse's office. "Well then," I sighed. "I guess I'll take it from here" Axel nodded. I walked towards the door, turning to say bye to Axel. But he was already halfway around the corner. I rolled my eyes, he was being stupid. Still, it may have been in my head but I thought I heard him start to say he 'hoped' I was older. I smirked at the possibility of this and walked in the nurse's office, making sure to put on a sick face before I got her attention.

**Sora POV**

It was about damn time the last bell rang. I just wanted to get out of this hell hole. Riku and Roxas were probably waiting for me in the parking lot, but I'd rather walk home than deal with Riku; if I could even call that place 'home.' Even though the school was a good twenty blocks or so from the apartment, I resigned myself to the fact that I was pretty much wasting an hour of my time just because of resentment. But as far as I was concerned, I'd be fine.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

I finally made it back to the apartment, with an angry-looking Riku. I frowned, dropping my backpack on the floor.

"What the hell is your problem?" Riku spat, walking towards me. I walked right past him, but he pulled me back by my arm.

"Oh, you know, my parents are dead," I glared.

"That's not the reason you've been acting like I'm the plague and you know it."

"Like you care," I turned away, refusing to look at him. Riku sighed and looked towards Roxas, who took the hint that now was a good time to leave.

"I'm going to go walk around the building," Roxas mumbled, heading for the door. I stood there waiting for Riku to let go of me but he didn't until after Roxas had shut the door. We both waited a few seconds before we started the conversation again.

"Sora, tell me what's wrong," he said in a softer tone.

"You fucking know what's wrong. Leave me alone." I seethed through gritted teeth, I was having a difficult enough time as it was, and I didn't need to be interrogated.

"No, I really don't. Tell me." I rolled my eyes and turned back around, growing more frustrated by the minute.

"Riku, I'm tired so will you just-" I wasn't expecting what happened next. Riku grabbed my arm again, his grip much tighter this time. Before I could even react, he spun me around again. I didn't even get a chance to attempt to protest as he pressed his lips against mine. My eyes widened as he pulled me closer and kissed me harder. Even though it probably only lasted about ten seconds, I wanted it to stop. I pushed him away from me and we stood there for a while, looking at the ground.

"I'm going to go…" I mumbled, chewing on my lip. I stepped back slowly and Riku, looking just as dazed and confused as I felt, nodded. I opened the door to the room Roxas and I shared and looked back to see that Riku hadn't moved at all. "Riiiight…." I mumbled more to myself, and shut the door, pressing my back on the door. I slid on to the ground and pulled my legs into my chest. I could hear Riku moving around the other room now. It sounded like he bumped into something and he cursed. I smiled slightly. Not how I imagined a kiss with Riku, but I could live with it.


	4. Confession

_A/N: Hey guys! :D We're hoping to get a couple chapters written this weekend, so we can keep up with posting twice a week or so. Even with school getting in the way all the time. OTL  
There's a bit of Zemyx, Akuroku, and Soriku fluff and / or angst in this chapter. xD _

**Demyx POV**

It was only the first day of school and I was already doing homework. And, of course, it had to be math, my least-favorite subject. I sat at the small table in kitchen of the apartment I shared with Zexion, tapping my pencil on the textbook. I looked at the problem, feeling my eyes blur. It was almost impossible to focus on this stuff. Sighing, I spread my arms across my books and the rest of the table, laying my head down. The lock on the door clicked and I turned my head, and watching it open. Two people walked in, one of them my slate-haired roommate and boyfriend.

"You're back!" I yelled, scrambling away from the table and over to him. I threw my arms around his neck and kissed him on the cheek. He made an attempt to struggle out of my grip, but I had the height advantage. The other person was Axel, who stood there rolling his vibrant green eyes. Zexion sighed and tried to pry me off.

"You're like a puppy, Dem," He said and I decided to let go of him. He brushed his hair out of his eyes and looked around the kitchen, raising an eyebrow at the mess of papers I had left behind.

"I was bored of homework," I said, waving a hand at the papers, "It was a long day. I hate going back to school."

"I do too, and I already graduated." He walked past me and my papers to the refrigerator and grabbed a bottle of water and walked over to the couch. Zexion graduated last year, when I was a junior. He decided to wait to go to college until I had graduated as well, and helped out in some classes this year. He most certainly had the grades and the teachers loved him. How could they not?

"So how's the coaching biz going, Ax?" I asked, leaning over Zexion to look for his reaction. Axel's eyes widened, his cheeks becoming flushed. I raised an eyebrow. "Oh… that fun already?"

"It's okay." He muttered, scratching the back of his head.

"So, why are you blushing, then?" I teased, waggling my eyebrows. Zexion sighed, knowing the conversation was going to get worse. He was probably right though.

"I'm not blushing!" The redhead growled defensively, but he turned away from both of us, making sure we couldn't see his face.

"I think _someone _has a crush." Zexion teased, smirking.

"Okay, fine. I might possibly have a tiny, little crush." Axel sighed, defeated.

"Ooh, I bet I know who it is!" I laughed, poking Axel's shoulder.

"Guess if you want, but I doubt you'll figure it out." He sighed, half-heartedly batting my hand away. Zexion and I both laughed.

"It has to be that cute new kid! The blonde one!" I said, jumping up and down. "Uhhh, what was his name? Don't tell me…uhh...Roxas, right?" Axel froze for a second, and then shook his head.

"How the _hell_ did you know that?" Axel exclaimed, turning back around. He cleared his throat.

"He's in my French II class." I winked, smirking. "But you do like him don't you?"

"I don't really," He said, running his hands through his hair. I walked back over to Zexion, who was now flipping through some book he had. "I've only spoken to him like…twice."

"Well, talk to him more or something!" I said; now busy playing with the strings on Zexion's jacket. "It's not that hard to talk to the kid."

"Yeah, but there's the whole age difference thing," Axel said, grabbing his bag as he headed towards the door.

"Well, how bad is it?" Zexion ask, now interested. We both waited for an answer, but Axel was out the door already.

I looked at Zexion, who seemed as confused as I was, and made a mental note to ask Roxas how old he was tomorrow.

**Axel POV**

I was out of Zexion and Demyx's apartment and down the hall as soon as possible. I didn't think before I opened my mouth about Roxas. I mean, I wasn't even sure I felt anything for the kid. Like I told them, we only talked twice and I totally blew him off the second time. So, now I had those two ready to annoy the hell out of me, and Roxas too probably, about my stupid comment.

"Great," I mumbled, covering my face with my hands. "Just great."

"What's great?" I jumped at the sound of the small blonde's voice, nearly tripping over him. Roxas was sitting on the floor outside Riku's apartment, next to the door looking up at me with bored eyes. I stared back, wondering why the hell he was outside in the hall, instead of inside, doing homework or something. He seemed to read my mind. "Riku and Sora kicked me out so they could yell at each other," He muttered forlornly.

"That sucks. Sorry about that." I mumbled, sitting down next to him. He nodded.

"Yeah, I wish they'd hurry up and let me back in. I left my homework in there." Roxas sighed, running his hand through his hair. "So what're you up to?" He looked at over at me, his head titled with a smile.

"Eh, I was gonna go grab something to eat." I said, checking my phone for the time. I looked back at Roxas, who was now watching his shoes as he tapped them together in a sad attempt to entertain himself. "Wanna come with me?" I asked without thinking. What the hell am I doing, practically asking out a fifteen year old? I mentally scolded myself.

"S-sure," he stuttered slightly; I noticed his cheeks turning a bit red before he turned away to stand up.

I stood up too and we walked down the hall. "How does ice cream sound? My treat." Roxas laughed.

"Sounds good to me," he smiled.

We decided to walk to the ice cream parlor, since it was only a few blocks away. It was a cool evening, the breeze rustling by gently. The busses were always filthy anyway. A breeze picked up and Roxas shivered slightly, pulling his jacket tighter around him.

"Is it always this windy?" He asked looking over his shoulder at me, smiling. I opened my mouth to answer when Roxas suddenly tripped. I quickly caught him, but couldn't help but chuckle when he looked up at me, blushing profusely. He jumped away and stood awkwardly for a second. But soon both of us were laughing.

"You aren't exactly the most coordinated person in the world, are you?" I laughed.

"Whatever, let's just go," He said, sticking out his tongue out and turning to walk.

We managed to make it to the parlor without any more incidents. Roxas was a still a bit embarrassed, but, while attempting to stifle laughter, I assured him it wasn't a big deal. We got our ice cream and sat at a small booth in the corner.

"So, how's school?" I asked awkwardly, trying to make conversation. Roxas looked up from his ice cream, holding the spoon by his mouth. He seemed to be wondering whether it was a serious question or not.

"It was pretty dull." He said with a shrug, "First day, so we didn't do much." He finished, looking back down at the cup, and I nodded. First days were always boring, and mine was no exception. Once again, we were sitting in silence. I tapped my fingers on the table thinking of a new topic. He beat me to it.

"You know, I don't mind," Roxas said, pushing his ice cream aside and leaning back into the booth. He raised an eyebrow. "I don't care that you can't think of anything to talk about. It's not that big of a deal," He stated like it was obvious.

"Smart guess," I said resting my head on my arms. "I can't think of a thing."

"Well," He said, leaning across the table only a few inches away from my face. "You might wanna work on that." He winked and sat up, getting out of the booth, to throw away his empty cup.

"Hmm…I guess I should." I mumbled, getting up to follow him. Once we got outside, the two of us began walking again. Roxas seemed in a slight rush to get back. It was only about five thirty but Riku and his brother were probably wondering where the hell he was.

"It's not like you have a curfew," I laughed, as he pretty much sprinted down the street. "You're old enough."

"Still, I'd like to get home before Sora calls the cops because I'm gone," He whined briefly, "Ehh…how old are you, anyway?" He asked, somewhat suddenly.

"Just turned 20," I shrugged, walking past him, across the street. He followed.

"Are you in college, then?" He asked. Apparently he thought of some things to talk about.

"Nah, not yet. I kinda procrastinated with the whole application thing, so I'm probably gonna go next fall." Roxas frowned slightly, but only for a moment.

It had gotten quite chilly since the sun had set, and the little blonde started to shiver.

"Cold?" I asked, tilting my head. He only nodded slightly, which was enough motivation for me to lean forward and wrap my arms around him, nuzzling his hair gently. He gasped quietly, before relaxing into my embrace. Maybe I _did _have a bit of a crush on him after all. He seemed to be pretty content, too. We kept walking until we eventually arrived at the building. We walked to the elevator and Roxas pushed the button for the third floor.

"…Hey, Axel?" He whispered, holding on to my arm. I looked at him as he glared intently at his shoes.

"Hmm?"

"We should…y'know…hang out again sometime." He blushed, turning around to face me.

"Sure thing, Blondie," I grinned. I leaned over; tipping his chin up. His eyes fluttered shut, and I gently pressed my lips to his. I pulled back after a few seconds and whispered, "Good night," before turning and walking down the hall.

**Riku POV**

I had been staring into the refrigerator probably for a good twenty minutes, but I couldn't force myself to move. I didn't even remember how long ago Sora had fled to his room, but I felt terrible since he hadn't come out yet. The front door opened and Roxas flew through the room.

"You should shut that, Riku, you're letting all the cold air out." He said and the door slammed not even five seconds after he said it. I looked over my shoulder. Maybe I should have just asked Demyx to let him hang out. They had a class together so they could have just done it there instead of having to rush to do it now. I sighed and shut the door like he'd suggested, walking slowing to the couch. I shouldn't have kissed Sora. He probably hated me know, he probably didn't want to stay anymore either. Turning on my side I growled into the couch.

"What are you doing?" I looked up to see Sora leaning over the edge of the couch; hovering over me.

Sora merely smirked, before swiftly pressing his lips to mine. I grinned, tangling my fingers into his hair and pulled him closer. We stayed that way for a while, and he almost fell off of the edge of the couch. But eventually we decided to just cuddle and watch tv for an hour or two. I smiled, playing with Sora's hair, perfectly content.

"So…are you going to tell me why you were acting so strange when you first moved in?" I asked. Sora explained about the incident when his family moved to Twilight Town, and it turned out to be just a huge misunderstanding. Sora had liked me, and I guess I didn't realize I loved him. I felt really bad for upsetting him. I apologized profusely.

"It's okay, Riku. I shouldn't have been such a jerk anyway," He mumbled.

Roxas walked out of their room, looking rather dazed.

"…What's going on?" He raised an eyebrow. I bit my lip, realizing the compromising position Sora and I were in. Sora quickly hopped off of me, grinning sheepishly.

"N-nothing! Nothing at all," he blushed. Roxas, who luckily seemed only half conscious, shrugged.

"Whatever, I'm just gonna…go get something to drink." And with that, Roxas walked into the kitchen, grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge.

"Did you just come home and pass out?" Sora asked, scratching at the couch, nervously.

"Don't even ask me anything right now, I barely know what's going on. I'm so tired." He said as he pulled the door to their room shut. Sora held his breath for a few seconds and then sighed, laying back his head on my shoulder.

"Is there a problem?" I asked him raising an eyebrow. Sora hid his face in the couch.

"I don't want Roxas to know," He muttered into the fabric. I pulled him away by the back of his neck and he squirmed around. "What?" He whined, looking up at me.

"Why not?" I asked, and he tried to turn away again.

"He's my little brother. That'd be weird." I punched him in the arm in a mocking fashion. "Ow…"

"That didn't hurt," I laughed.

"Still, it's the principle of the matter." He mumbled. I raised an eyebrow, but I think he knew what he said made no sense, along with the fear of his brother knowing that we had kissed. "Besides, this really shouldn't be happening…" He said, trailing off on the last part.

"Again, why the hell not?" I said, sounding a little more annoyed then I had intended. Sora glared.

"For starters, because I just moved in not even two days ago, and I made an attempt to let go of my feelings for you four years ago. Things don't magically get fixed because you kissed me. No matter how much I want them to." He explained, rolling on the other side of the couch. I sat there, slightly dumbfounded.

"But…"

"You see it too, and you know it." Sora protested. He was right though, I did see it. I sighed and put my head in my hands.

"Fine," I said, getting up, but Sora pulled me back down.

"Doesn't mean you can't make it up to me," he said, holding my arm. I smiled and sat back down, leaning forward to kiss him. He laughed and pushed away.

"Which means you gotta start with the normal stuff," He laughed "That means you're not just going to kiss me whenever you want."

I looked over at the clock on the TV and cursed. I forgot I worked the last shift today, and it was already seven o'clock. I looked at Sora, who looked adorable, laying on my couch; his blue eyes staring up at me. I pulled him close and kissed him quickly. He didn't seem too bothered by me bending his rules.

"Okay, starting tomorrow." I said, jumping off the couch and running towards my room to get my work clothes. "Tell Roxas I said good night, the kid looked like he was half dead." Sora waved me off from behind the back of the couch.

"'Kay, get lost," He teased. I rummaged through my drawers, thinking about Sora's proposition and how I could prove to him that I'd try. I changed quickly and ran back towards the door, running past Sora and playfully smacking him in the back of the head and turned off the TV.

"Go to bed, there's school tomorrow." I teased, opening the door and running out.

_A/N: Ohi again, don't forget to review, please! We love reviews :D_


	5. Truth

_A/N: Hey guys! Sorry this chapter is a bit late. D: Also this took way longer to proofread than I thought it would. /dies OTL_

**Demyx POV**

My alarm screeched at precisely 7:30, which was way too freaking early to get up. I groaned, mashing the snooze button. I missed it by a few inches; I groaned; the incessant noise hurting my ears. After a few minutes of blind struggling, I ripped the cord out of the wall, and it stopped mid-screech. I rolled back over and shut my eyes, hoping for some extra sleep. Zexion came into wake me up a few minutes later, but I just mumbled and clung to my pillow, much to his dismay.

"Get up, you lazy bum," he said, grabbing my arm. I pushed him away.

"I decided to skip school today and just sleep. Besides, dealing with Mr. Frenchie is the last thing I want to do," I groaned into the pillow. Zexion dropped my arm and sighed.

"Whatever, you're old enough to make your own damn decisions," He said, somewhat annoyed, "No matter how pointless."

"Looove you," I cooed, and he slammed my door. I smiled to myself and went back to sleep.

When I woke up a couple hours later, I was starving. I walked into the kitchen to grab something to eat, deciding on a poptart. I sat down and struggled with the silver wrapper, and decided to just rip it open with my teeth. Before I could though, there was a knock at the door. I dropped my poptart on the table and mumbled, heading back into my room. I quickly flung on a pair of sweatpants and walked back to open the door.

"Oh, hey Axel! Wassup bro?" I grinned, holding out an arm and inviting him in. He looked kind of confused.

"Eh…Hey Demyx." He frowned, running his hand through his red spikes. He wandered over to the couch and sat down.

"What'sa matter?" I asked, dropping down next to him.

He sighed, "Well…" I glanced over at my poptart, but it seemed that this might be a bit more important. I sighed and leaned back onto the couch, curling up on the other side of it, leaning my head on the edge. I still wasn't ready to be up.

"Okay, spill it." I said, poking his arm with my socked foot. He pushed me away, looking anxious.

"…Okay, well…I kinda wanna ask Roxas out…"

"Shouldn't you know how to do that by now?" I teased.

"Shut up," He said, throwing a cushion at me. It hit me rather roughly on my head and I laughed. "I'm being serious…I think I really like him," he finished, scowling at me.

"Just ask Zexion when he gets home," I reasoned.

"He wouldn't know what to," he whined, slightly out of character from his normally over-confident self.

"It's true; he's hopeless when it comes to love," I said, lovingly, of course. "So fine, I'll help you."

"You really are smarter then he gives you credit for," Axel sighed. "So…How do I do this?"

"You should serenade him!" I practically squealed, clapping my hands, and then falling back onto the couch laughing.

"Absolutely not," he glared, looking ready to hit me. "Be serious." I stopped laughing.

"Oh, fine. Just be nice to him and ask," I sighed.

"I guess I'll ask him today after school." He smiled, "Thanks bro." He got up and began to walk towards the door, but stopped and turned on his heel.

"Wait…Do you think he likes me too?" He asked.

"Of course he does," I waved him off.

I sat there for a second hoping he wouldn't stay much longer. Because truth be told, I had no idea if Roxas liked him. They seemed to be getting along pretty well the first time I saw them together, though. I really just wanted Axel out of my apartment so I could go back to my breakfast and then back to sleep. Oh…and his happiness and all…That was important too.  
"Eh, what the hell, you only live once, I guess." He exclaimed and I let out a sigh of relief. I was saved.

"Good luck," I called as he finally got to the door. He waved and shut it behind him as he left. I waited a few seconds before walking back into the kitchen to eat.

**Roxas POV**

In retrospect, I was positive Sora was over-reacting. But all I heard this morning as he ranted about me seeing the nurse was "you should stay home," and that was enough to make me agree. Apparently, the nurse thought it was odd that a boy, whose parents just died, would be coming into the nurse claiming to be sick. Even though she called yesterday, Sora probably agreed with her since I had been kinda distant since Monday. They both must have thought I was having a hard time and making myself sick with stress. That was some pretty stupid reasoning, but fuck it; I figured I'd get an extra hour or two of sleep. I glanced at the clock on the microwave, and it turns I had slept a lot more than that. It was already twelve o'clock.

I decided it'd be fine for me to just lazily watched tv for a few hours. It was nice to be able to do nothing and relax for a while; after all that's happened in the last week. It really hadn't sunk in that mom and dad were dead…I winced, trying not to think about it.

A while later, I checked the time on my phone; it was 4:20. I begrudgingly got up and got dressed. There wasn't really a lot to do in Riku's apartment, so I decided to go wander around the building for a bit. I hadn't had time to explore much yet, anyway.

I wandered around the labyrinth-like halls for a while, taking the elevator numerous times, just to look at a new floor. Not surprisingly, it was the same thing on every floor; same number of rooms on a floor, same pale grey walls. It was painfully dull. Eventually I gave up, walking back into the elevator.

"Hey! Can you hold the elevator?" A voice called, followed by the sound of footsteps.

I hit the number for my floor, and then held the doors open. I checked my phone again, knowing my brother would be home soon, probably about to freak out, so I decided to text him. I was holding the doors with one hand, and typing the message with the other.

"Oh, hey Roxas!" I looked up from my phone to see Axel. He moved into the elevator as I closed my phone and looked down. I could almost feel Axel's eyes on me but I didn't bother looking up.

"Hey," I mumbled, suddenly very interested in my shoes.

"Where ya goin'?" He asked, sounding slightly nervous.

"Riku's" I said, slightly confused. Wasn't it obvious? "You know…where I live…"

"Right," He said as if wondering what to do now. He his seemed to make up his mind and hit the button for the roof. "Okay, come with me for a second."

"Umm…no," I said bluntly as the elevator screeched to a stop on my floor. "I have to go check in with my brother." I took a step forward but Axel stuck out his arm and shoved me lightly, holding me back with his shoulder.

"Trust me, it'll just be a second," He said, nervously pounding the close door button. He looked over at me, and snickered, probably at the dumbfounded look on my face.

"Can we just make this fast?" I sighed.

"Yeah," Axel said, sounding anxious again, his foot tapping nervously. I stood there, a bit annoyed the elevator moved up the floors. When the elevator doors finally slid open again to a small hallway. "Just through here," He said, moving towards the small door, no doubt leading to the roof. He turned back to look at me, to make sure I was going to follow.

"Damn," I mumbled, walking towards him. He waited for me in the hall and smiled at me. I bit my lip, trying not to blush and walked past him out onto the roof.

He walked toward me, standing a little closer than necessary…not that I minded. I looked up into his shimmering jade eyes, smiling; my cheeks tinted pink. He smiled kindly, and I would've sworn he was blushing too.

"Okay, so what did you want to tell me," I asked, trying to sound a lot more confident then I felt.

"Roxas, I…" he murmured softly, "I'm like ninety nine percent sure I like you…a lot." He finished, running his hands through his hair. I opened my mouth to say something, but words didn't come out. "Look, I know we barely know each other, but…" I laughed.

"It's okay…" I said, managing to stop him before he went into a full-fledged rant, "I think I like you a lot too."

"You have no idea how glad I am to hear you say that." He smiled, pulling me against him. Still a bit nervous, I let my arms hang by sides briefly. But after a little while I nuzzled into his chest, sighing contentedly. Soon, he pulled me away, holding me by my shoulders at arm's length. It was odd, but he was smiling.

"Um… do you want to make it official?" he asked, tilting his head.

"Uhh…" I didn't know how to answer, because I didn't really know what he meant. "What…?" Axel rolled his eyes, still smiling.

"Okay, I meant, do you wanna go out? You know, with me…" He laughed at my lack of knowledge on the subject. I blushed again, and punched his shoulder lightly.

"Fine," I laughed, "We can make it official then, if it makes you feel better," I teased. He leaned in and brushed his lips against mine lightly.

"Yeah…" He smirked as my face became even redder, "It makes me feel a lot better this way." I smiled and kissed him quickly, before heading back toward the door.

"But I do have to go back and check in with Sora. He made me stay home and everything so he'll probably be annoyed that I'm not there." I explained. He nodded and followed me towards the door.

"So when can we hang out again?" He asked, as I leaned on the door. He was, once again, standing a little too close.

"What about Friday?" I suggested, having to look up at him. He nodded.

"Now get outta here before your brother freaks out," he laughed, teasingly punching my shoulder.

"See you later," I laughed, walking back into the elevator. I pushed the button for the sixth floor and waited. When the doors finally opened, I wandered down the hall and into Riku's apartment. As I opened the door, I saw Sora and Riku sprawled out on the floor by the couch, kissing.

My eyes widened, "What the hell?" I exclaimed, in shock. I had no idea…I thought they didn't get along. They hated each other. Sora was supposed to be mad at him. He didn't seem mad right now, though. Sora quickly stood up, practically flinging Riku off of him.

"Uhh, hey Rox! I…uhh…didn't think you'd be home so soon…" He laughed nervously, pushing Riku further away and curling up on the couch. "What's up?"

I glanced at Riku, who was sitting on the floor with a look on his face like that of a child caught with his hand in the cookie jar, then back at Sora who looked like the ceiling was the most interesting thing in the world.

"What's up? _What's up?_" I shook my head and tried to calm down. I really had no right to be upset or freaked out. If they knew about Axel, Sora would probably be pissed too; or worse. Riku seemed to be the first of the two to regain control of the situation.

"Okay, look Roxas." He said, using the table to push himself up. He sat down on the couch, Sora moving away, probably still embarrassed. "It's not that big of a deal. We're adults, you know," He said, sounding oddly mature about the situation, although an eighteen-year-old doesn't really qualify as an adult in my book. I stood there, still trying to process this situation.

"Well, I'm just gonna go," Sora said, climbing over the back of the couch as an attempted escape the awkward situation. I wish I could too, but considering I lived with both of them, and shared a room with one, it wasn't very likely. Riku grabbed him by his ankle as he was almost off the couch, and yanked him back down.

"You're both acting like this is the end of the world, and it's really not." I folded my arms, and Sora blushed again. "Roxas, I'm pretty sure Sora and I wouldn't flip out if we caught you kissing a girl on the couch when we weren't here." I bit my lip, as Riku explained. It wasn't a girl they had to worry about...

"You were on the floor," I mumbled.

"I fell," Sora mumbled in reply. Riku laughed lightly.

"Okay, well, I guess I'll leave now. I'm pretty sure they won't mind if I'm early for my shift." He said, speaking more to Sora than to me. "That way, you two can talk."

With that, Riku grabbed his uniform and wallet and walked out the door. Sora sat down on the couch, crossing his arms and glaring. What did _he _have to be mad about? It wasn't my fault I walked in on them!

"What the hell are you mad about?" I asked, scowling.

"It's none of your fucking business!" He shouted, getting up.

"Stop acting like a freaking girl and tell me," I rolled my eyes, irritated.

"I'm not a girl, and I'm pissed because you ruined our moment!"

"How the hell was I supposed to know you two were having a moment? There wasn't a freakin' sock on the doorknob or anything…" I grumbled, exasperated.

"I guess it wasn't your fault," he sighed, "I just…" He slouched, staring at the ground. It seemed like he wouldn't, or couldn't, bear to make eye contact with me.

"Sora, it's fine. I'll knock from now on," I said, dropping down next to him.

"You aren't ashamed of me?" He looked up, his azure eyes glistening with unshed tears.

"No, not at all; why would I be?" I asked, baffled.

"Because I'm gay…" he managed to choke out, staring intently at the floor again. Why on earth would he think I'd be ashamed of him? After a moment of pondering, it dawned on me. He didn't know I was gay too. Or that I thought I was…I had a boyfriend now, so it would seem that way.

"Don't even worry about it, Sora. You'll always be my brother and nothing will ever change that," I quickly pulled him into a hug. I couldn't believe that after everything we've been through, he thought I'd shun him over his sexuality. The stress must be getting to him, too. Sora wiped his eyes and pushed me away teasingly.

"You're so cheesy," He laughed, walking over to the kitchen. "Do you want anything to eat?" I followed him, grabbing my bag as I walked, and sitting at the kitchen table. I rubbed my eyes and grabbed my new math book.

"Sora, you know you can't cook," I said, opening it, and reaching for a pencil and paper. Sora playfully smacked the back of my head.

"Riku brought home some food from work," He said, opening the kitchen. "I'm pretty sure I can stick a container in the microwave,"

"I dunno," I teased, "that might be too complicated for you."

"Because you can do so much better," Sora said rolling his eyes. He walking past the phone and stopped, remembering something. "Yuffie called," He said, his tone changing from happy and playful; to flat and melancholy. "She wants us to meet her tomorrow before school. Riku's driving us. She said to dress nice."

"I've been dreading this," I mumbled, frowning.

"She sounded like she was crying again," He sighed, with the same depressed tone. I sighed as well and dropped my head on my book.

"I guess I don't need to do my homework yet," I said, trying to sound positive, but ended up sounding as tired as he did. I decided to take a shower and go to sleep. Tomorrow was going to be a long day.

_A/N: We hope you liked this chapter! Don't forget to leave a review, please. :D_


	6. Closure

_A/N: So sorry for the depressing / short chapter. D: We promise the next chapter will be much happier and longer. There shall be fluff. :'D!_

**Sora POV**

I should have known this meeting wasn't going to be pleasant by the tone Yuffie had on the phone, but I hadn't expected this.

"What are you two wearing?" Riku said, standing in the kitchen wearing a suit. Yuffie had said to dress nice, so Roxas and I had figured dress pants and a button up shirt would be enough; apparently not.

"What are you wearing?" Roxas asked, raising an eyebrow. "You look like you're going to a wedding." He laughed, obviously not understanding.

"Or a funeral," I said, glaring at Riku. He ran his hand through his silver hair, looking away from us.

"Shit," he grumbled, "she told you all about it on the phone." Roxas looked stunned and angry but he didn't say anything; he just stood there silently.

"That's just great," I snapped, "today's our own parents' funeral and you couldn't even tell us?"

"It's not my fault!" Riku yelled back and I shrunk away. He was much more intimidating than I originally thought. He sighed again. "I'm sorry, Sora. Just…we're going to be late if we don't leave soon." We both turned as Roxas made an attempt to speak, which came out more as a squeak. He cleared his throat and tried again.

"I think I have something…you know…black," he said very quietly, "I'll go change." He turned and left the kitchen. We watched him sulk back to his room like a kicked dog, shutting the door behind him. My gaze moved back to Riku, waiting for an explanation.

"This wasn't my idea," Riku explained, "I knew she was planning it, but I thought she told you guys."

"She didn't," I sighed, sitting down, "let's just go."

We begrudgingly made our way outside, where Yuffie was waiting to pick us up. Roxas stuffed several kleenex into his pockets as we walked out the door. He was having a harder time getting over this than I was; probably because he was closer to our parents. Plus, he was younger.

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The funeral home was eerily calm, piano music playing softly in the background. White flowers adorned almost every structure. It was odd that there was no pink…it was mom's favorite color. Yuffie must have known it probably wouldn't look good with the other decorations anyway. Boxes of tissues were scattered throughout the room, along with silk fabric draped on the chairs and couches. Roxas and I walked down the main aisle and sat in one of the front pews, not wanting to see our parents just yet; while Riku tried to comfort his mother. I could feel tears welling up in my eyes, and Roxas was already crying quietly. I patted him on the shoulder and he jumped slightly, wiping his eyes.

The funeral director took us aside for a while, trying to comfort us. Even though he was just doing his job, it did make me feel a little better. My brother, on the other hand, was inconsolable. We sat quietly when the funeral director started the ceremony. He briefly spoke about our parents' lives and families, before inviting people to share stories.

Yuffie volunteered to speak first. She recalled her friendship with my mother, and a few funny stories. One of which was their "devious" plot to set her up with my father. Leon stepped up to the podium next. He talked about his and Cloud's rivalry; yet despite that, they became best friends. Only Roxas and I were left to speak. His facial expression clearly told me he wasn't ready yet. Neither was I, but I figured I would go first.

"Um…hello, I'm Sora." Great, I was off to an amazing start. It sounded like an AA meeting but I had to continue. "Right, well, you all probably know who I am. My brother and I will really miss our parents. They meant a lot to us and…it's going to be hard without them." I stood there, not sure what to do next. I couldn't think of anything else to say, but stepping down now would seem odd. I looked around to Yuffie who gave me a slight nod, which I assumed meant that I should get down. She quietly told Roxas that it was his turn to speak.

He got up slowly, wiping his eyes again as he walked up to the podium. "…Hi everyone…" he spoke softly; his voice shaky, "I'm really gonna miss my parents. They did so much for us, and now they're just…gone. I'm especially going to miss Mom's cooking, and playing sports with Dad and Sora," he smiled weakly, earning an "aww" from the rest of the crowd. "It's hard to cope…but we'll be okay. They would want us to be okay," He choked, starting to tear up again; he muttered a quick apology and scurried back to sit next to me.

The funeral director calmly walked up to the podium and asked if anyone else would like to say anything. The crowd was silent. He then said a small prayer, and told us that it was time to go to the cemetery where they would be buried. Roxas and I stood at the doors of the funeral home, receiving hugs and condolences from everyone. After a while, we got into Yuffie's car and followed the hearse in the precession to the cemetery.

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When we stepped out of the car, everyone was still slightly teary-eyed, and the weather was a perfect mirror of how we all felt. The sky was completely gray and cloudy and rain drizzled down softly. After walking for a few minutes, we reached our parents' plot. It was a nice little area underneath an old willow tree. The funeral director spoke final goodbyes and well wishes to their souls, and told us that we should leave now. They didn't want us to see our parents' coffins lowered into the ground. Frankly, I didn't want to see that either. I don't think I could handle it, and Roxas definitely couldn't handle seeing something like that. He did ask, however…I told him no.

We said our last goodbye to our parents and walked back to Yuffie's car, and she drove us back to Riku's apartment. Riku had chosen to drive by himself, although now I wish I had gone with him. The car ride with Yuffie was painfully awkward, and almost completely silent. She only spoke to utter a small whimper of an apology. I told her it wasn't her fault, but after the four or fifth one, I just nodded slightly each time. I don't think she even realized we were in the car, or at least awake. Roxas, who was sitting in the back, kept his head down, letting his hair cover his eyes. His silence was weird considering the past few days had been going decently for him. He seemed to like school, and was making friends. Even when he had…seen Riku and I; he seemed pretty calm. But now he was completely closed off, the only sounds coming from him were sniffles and sobs.

I think Roxas fell asleep at some point, since his sobs had disappeared for the last half of the trip back. He must've been exhausted from today. I couldn't blame him, though. It was quite tiring and emotionally draining to have to go through what we did. Even Yuffie, who made the occasional swerve into towards the edge of the road, was drained.

After the hour's drive we finally made it back 'home.' I stepped out of the car first, and woke up Roxas, who jolted awake and attempted to smile. I walked into the lobby as he trailed behind me. Riku was leaving as we came into the lobby. He wanted to try to comfort Yuffie before she went back home, and make sure she could do the drive without going head first into a ditch. The sun hadn't even gone down yet, but I could tell she was ready to pass out. Roxas and I went ahead and took the key from Riku, who reminded me once again to tell him to get a copy for us, and went upstairs. Roxas lingered by the elevator, as if looking around to make sure no one could see his puffy eyes before he stepped out. Eventually, we got back into the apartment, and I immediately dropped down onto the couch. Roxas quietly muttered that he was going to shower and try to go to sleep. Riku had mentioned something about eating first but he was already starting up the water. I sighed, turning on the tv. Maybe some mindless comedy could clear my mind for a bit. I got through two channels or so before I just gave up, setting the remote down and letting the show play. I stretched out and closed my eyes.

"Sora?" Roxas called out. His voice sounded weak and scratchy, probably from crying. I didn't open my eyes, just groaned in response. A few drops of cold water fell on my face and I opened my eyes to see Roxas standing by the edge of the couch, looking down at me, water dripping from his blond hair. He must have just gotten out of the shower.

"Hey…what time is it?" I said, sitting up and rubbing my eyes.

"No need to worry, Riku," Roxas said, heading into the kitchen. "He's alive." His attempt at a rather morbid joke, considering today's events told me he was setting his defenses back up. Riku shook his head.

"It's a little after eight," he said, hitting Roxas lightly in the head, and giving him a stern look. Roxas' reply was simply a quick roll of his eyes. "I ordered pizza a half hour ago and there's still some left if you want any," Riku finished, walking out of the kitchen.

"I thought you were going to go straight into the shower," I asked Roxas. If Riku's time check was right I had been asleep for two hours, so Roxas shouldn't have just gotten done in the shower. Riku laughed lightly.

"He had planned to, but when I came back up from talking to Yuffie, the water was running, but Roxas was passed out in bed. He only got up when he heard the pizza guy arrive."

"I was tired," Roxas said defensively, picking at the paper around the water bottle he was holding in his hands.

"Well, you two got a nap, so I'm going to go to bed now," Riku continued, turning toward me, "Roxas says he wants to go to school tomorrow, so I'm going to take him in the morning and come back. Do you want to go? Yuffie called the school so it won't be a big deal if you don't go."

"I'll think about it," I groaned, getting up and looking for my own makeshift dinner.

"Just let me know," Riku said with a yawn, walking into his room and closed the door. A few minutes later, Roxas walked into the living room and sat down next to me.

"I can't sleep anymore," he frowned.

"Me neither. I guess we could watch some movies 'til we get tired," I mumbled, yawning.

_A/N: Hopefully, this chapter didn't bum you guys out too much. Sorry it's short and kinda crappy. The next chapter will be better, we promise. xD Reviews are loved as always._


	7. Caught

_A/N: Sorry about how late that last update was. OTL So…here's an extra chapter to try to make it up to you guys. D: _

**Roxas POV**

Not even twenty minutes into art class and I was already about to fall asleep. I had stayed up with Sora last night watching old movies until he fell asleep on the couch, which wasn't until like two in the morning. He wasn't exactly handling things very well.

I put my head down on the table, doodling absent-mindedly, letting the sun from the window warm my back. It was cold in the classroom, so I was lucky enough to be wearing a black shirt to help me get some extra heat. My eyes were sliding shut as I drew some more scribbles; one being a little heart. My hand froze and I blinked at my doodles. Shaking my head, I erased it quickly and sat up; this really wasn't a good time to be thinking about _him_ with everything else that was going on. I was happy that Seifer wasn't at school today, so I took the opportunity to put my feet up on his chair across from me in an attempt to sit up straighter to keep myself awake. This worked for about ten minutes, but eventually I fell asleep.

"Roxas…wake up," a quiet voice whispered softly, followed by light tapping on my shoulder. I looked up to see the small blonde hovering over me; she smiled.

"The bell's going to ring in a minute or two," She giggled softly as I rubbed my eyes.

"Sorry, I stayed up really late last night," I yawned. She shook her head.

"No need to apologize. The teacher seemed pretty calm about it; I don't think she took any points off." I looked over at the teacher who was looking sadly at me. Yuffie must have called her about the funeral… I sighed and turned back to Namine; trying not to look as upset and tired as I felt.

"So, what's up, Namine?" I yawned, stretching.

"Not much," She shrugged, as the bell rang. Looking up, she sighed. She picked up her light blue bag and slung it over shoulder.

"See you at lunch?" I offered, picking up my stuff. I didn't really feel like talking, but maybe the company would help. She looked nervously at her phone, then back at me with a smile and nodded.

"Sounds good," She said, heading towards the door with a wave. I begrudgingly got up and walked to French.

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"You know, my friend asked about you the other day," Demyx said with a wink. We had only been in class for about five minutes, but as soon as the teacher turned his back, he jumped at the chance to start a conversation.

I looked at my desk immediately, avoiding eye contact at all cost.

"Really? That's odd," I mumbled, fiddling with my pencil. I wasn't sure if it was a good idea to seem too excited. Demyx probably didn't know we were together…even though it only been a few days.

"Yeah, my friend Axel; you know, the tall one with long, spiky, red hair." He laughed, "he was curious about how you were doing."

I felt my cheeks heat up. Oh god, not this again. Stupid blushing… "What'd you tell him?"

"That you weren't in school again," he smiled, but stopped. "Where were you anyway?" He asked, raising an eyebrow, but in a slightly less happy tone.

"I had to be somewhere," I mumbled into my sleeve, dropping my head back down on the desk. He seemed to take the hint to change the subject.

"So, why do you think Axel was asking about you?" he asked. I shrugged; my head still down, this time to hide the slight smile forming.

"I dunno," I said quietly, holding my head up, but still not facing Demyx.

"Maybe he _likes_ you," he teased. I turned away and kept silent. "Roxas?" He called, luckily in a loud enough voice that the teacher spun around. His death glare ended our conversation, and we kept quiet for the rest of the class. When the bell rang, I bolted out of the door to avoid any more questions and headed towards the cafeteria. The closer I got, however, the less I wanted to eat or be around all those people. Sora had been smart to stay home today, but I had already missed two days in the first week of school, so I pretty much had no choice but to go. I walked past the cafeteria and straight out the door, into the courtyard. In the back of my mind I remembered telling Namine that we'd meet up at lunch, but I knew she would understand. I pulled my iPod out of my bag and put my headphones in, walking towards the courtyard.

I zoned out listening to my iPod while walking around the campus. I hadn't planned to go too far, but the school was small enough to cover a lot of ground in a short amount of time. Eventually, I turned onto the track and walked up the bleachers. There was still about 20 minutes of lunchtime left, so I figured sitting out here might be nice. I needed to get away from all the people anyway. I put my backpack on the top bench and laid my head on it, lying on my back and looking up at the sky. It was clear, but not too bright, so it was a good time to just relax.

Soon, the smell of cigarettes filled my nose and I jumped up into a sitting position, almost choking.

"Be careful getting up," a familiar voice laughed, "you almost put my cig out." It was Axel. I turned around to see him standing over me, with a cigarette in his mouth. He was wearing a pair of black basketball shorts and a white t-shirt.

"Hey," I grinned.

"'Sup?" He smiled, looking around before giving me a quick hug.

"Not much. I don't really wanna go to geometry. Or gym either," I said, rubbing my eyes, "how 'bout you?"

"I was just getting ready to leave when I saw you sleeping. I swung by early to get things set up for tryouts today," he sighed. "Wait…" He asked, a bit confused, "when do you have geometry?"

"Third period, I'm surprised the bell hasn't rung already," I said, looking towards the building. I looked back at him, pulling my bag over my shoulder, noticing his nervous expression. "Axel…" I said, anxiously, "What's that look for…?"

"I got here probably half an hour ago. The bell for fourth period already rang…a while ago." He explained, raising his eyebrow. My eyes widened and I hurried down the bleachers.

"Why didn't anyone come wake me up…or call… or something!" I ranted, jumping down every few benches. Axel followed after me. I stumbled a bit on the last one, but he grabbed my arms to balance me.

"Okay, calm down," He laughed turning me around to face him. I tried to do as he said, but I was still a little anxious. "Besides, I was just thinking…you should skip class and hang with me," he winked, smirking.

I stopped fighting to get back to class and nodded, "S-sure, sounds fun," I stuttered, trying to sound confident, but I could feel myself blushing already.

Axel shook his head, ruffled my hair, and sighed, "Tsk, tsk, Roxy. What am I going to do with you?" I pushed him off of me and stuck out my tongue.

"Well, I could just go back to class," I said, folding my arms across my chest, "Gym could be worth it." Axel rolled his eyes.

"You know you don't want to go to class," He teased. I turned on my heel and looked towards the track, ditching my bag. Taking a few steps onto the track, I waved him off.

"I dunno," I laughed, "I wouldn't want to miss a single second more than I already have. They must be worried."

"Well, aren't you a little nerd?" He joked, taking a few steps forward and reaching out for my arm. I pulled away and sped up.

"Of course," I stuck out my tongue at him again and turned to run. He began to speed up too until we were both running. "Looks like you're too slow, mister track coach," I said, turning to run backwards, stumbling a bit. I could feel like I was ready to fall and had to slow down to keep balance, still maintaining the lead for a bit. Axel took advantage of this moment to catch up.

"Got you," He grinned as he pushed me down onto the track. I grabbed the front of his shirt and took him down with me. We landed in a pretty…compromising position. I was lying on my back, and Axel was on his hands and knees above me, holding my wrists on the ground. His face hovered only a few inches over mine; it was almost intimidating to see him that close. The playful glint in his eyes and menacing grin on his face didn't help much either. I struggled half-heartedly to get away.

"Going somewhere?" he smirked. Feeling cheeky, I merely winked in response. The redhead raised his eyebrows before leaning down to brush his lips against mine. I leaned up closer to him, humming contentedly. Suddenly, Axel practically leapt off of me, dragging me up off the ground with him until we were both standing, a good four feet apart. I frowned at the lack of contact. Did I do something wrong?

"What's wrong?" I asked.

"I thought I heard someone coming," he sighed. At first, I thought he was over-reacting. It was the middle of class and everyone, teachers included, should be in the buildings. But, of course, the gym teacher walked out onto the track only moments later.

"Roxas!" He roared, and I flinched at the noise. The first thought that came to my mind was to run away as fast as possible. Maybe I could climb a tree or something. Coach was kind of losing his touch, so I doubt he could catch me. "Why the hell aren't you in class?" I was planning my escape perfectly, and was ready to turn to leave. But, Axel moved in front of me and strode over to him confidently.

"Chill, Lex. Roxas still isn't feeling well. I think he should sit out of gym today, honestly."

Mr. Aeleus seemed to think it over for a few moments, before begrudgingly agreeing with Axel. I weakly hobbled over to where they were talking, putting on my best 'sick' face. I was a little out of breath, so I was hoping that would help with my ruse. It didn't seem to be needed though; Mr. Aeleus was giving me the same pitying look I had gotten this morning.

"Ugh, fine. But you're going to participate in class tomorrow, no ifs, ands, or buts about it. Now get out of my sight, you weakling." He growled half-heartedly, stomping back into the gym. He turned around, "and Mr. Lea, I expect you here at 3:30 for tryouts," He yelled, glaring at us. We stood there for a few minutes, waiting for Mr. Aeleus to disappear back in the building. I sighed, relieved.

"So that's two out of two days I've skipped gym," I said, running my hands through my hair, "awesome." Axel laughed again. He seemed to be doing that a lot. "What's so funny?" I asked.

"You, you're so concerned about school," he said flatly, and I was surprised he was that blunt. "Besides, he didn't even seem that upset about you not being there. He was strangely okay with it," He said, sounding somewhat concerned. I needed a quick excuse to change the subject.

"It's the first week of school, I should be at least trying to get used to how things work," I protested in my best attempt at a playful, happy tone, and punched his arm lightly. He grabbed my wrist and smirked.

"Not a battle you wanna start," He teased as I pulled away and rolled my eyes.

"Sure, whatever you say, Axel," I said, rubbing my wrist, "I'm not scared of you."

"Really?" He purred darkly, taking a step closer. "Because I've already pinned you once today," he grinned, the devious look returning to his green eyes. I smirked at him.

"Bring it on," I challenged, playfully pushing his shoulder. He looked at me for a second with that devious expression. I turned and bolted in the other direction, and it quickly turned into another race. I decided to take a new approach of running around in circles for a while, hoping he'd get tired and give up. Unfortunately, the 'plan' didn't go as expected, and I was soon out of breath. I stopped, trying to pull in some air.  
"Time out, time out!" I dropped down on the grass and laid on my back. "I'm tired," I panted, closing my eyes but I knew he was standing over me. I open an eye and looked at him.

"Wimp," he laughed, and I rolled on my side.

"Get lost," I teased. He used his foot to roll me back over and sat down next to me. I sat up for a second, but only to push Axel down with me.

He chuckled, and leaned in to kiss me, but of course our little moment was ruined by the last bell's shrill ring. I rolled away and stood up, brushing the grass off my back.

"Shit. This happens too often," Axel muttered, frowning.

"I'll see you later," I sighed, looking around before I kissed his cheek lightly. He grumbled some form of complaint and walked off. We opted to not walk together to track tryouts, since that would probably raise suspicion. I didn't tell Axel that I had planned to go to tryouts, but it didn't seem important. So as he walked to go talk to Mr. Aeleus, I headed back to meet Demyx in the locker room to get changed.

I shouldn't have been surprised that as soon as I walked in, Demyx began talking. Still, it was somewhat nice to not have to start a conversation…or contribute to one. He ranted on about his classes and how stupid the teachers were.

"Especially Mr. Frenchie," he snarled as we changed into gym shorts for the tryouts. I laughed knowing that it was most likely a mutual dislike.

"Well, just keep your comments to yourself," I suggested, finally getting some words in. "Might make it easier to get through."

"Do you really think I ever keep my mouth shut, Roxas?" He laughed, pulling his shirt over his head. I considered this briefly and shook my head.

"No, I don't think you can," I laughed. He kept talking as we walked out of the locker room and toward the track outside. As we stood there in line with the rest of the kids, I felt extremely anxious for two reasons: this was my first time trying out for a sport and Axel, the assistant coach, would be there. I was disappointed that he seemed to look right over me.

Tryouts went by pretty fast, considering not many guys even bothered to show up. I did end up getting on the team, much to Axel's dismay. He avoided my gaze and I eventually gave up, irritated. What the hell was his problem? One minute we're laughing and having fun and the next he's acting like I don't exist? What a jackass.

I didn't even bother to say goodbye to him after tryouts. I got my stuff and waited outside for Riku and Sora. He tried to catch my gaze as I left, but I rolled my eyes and continued walking, sending him some mental hate waves. Luckily for me, they showed up early for once. I was surprised to see Sora sitting in the passenger seat, still looking tired. Riku must have picked him up while I was at tryouts. We drove back to the apartment in silence. When we got there, they pretty much just dropped me off and left to go shopping or something; Riku offered for me to join, but glancing at Sora, who looked like he was about to fall out; I declined. Sora needed to get out anyway, and Riku would probably be better company than me. Plus, it meant I got some time to myself. I walked into the elevator and eventually into the apartment.

I grabbed a soda out of the fridge; clumsily pushing some leftover pizza wrapped in plastic wrap out of my way and sat on the couch to watch tv. I managed to relax for a bit, until there was a knock at the door. Assuming they'd forgotten something, I groaned and opened the door. Riku should just use his key.

My eyes widened; I really wasn't expecting Axel to show up, especially not with such a forlorn look on his face. "…Hey," he smiled nervously. I debated on slamming the door in his face, making sure it was loud enough to fill the hall, but I decided not to…yet.

"What the hell could you possibly want?" I asked, irritated.

"About tryouts, I-" I cut him off, deciding to slam the door. There wasn't as much force as I had planned, but it was as much as I could manage, being fifteen and rather small and all. I heard him groan and mumble something on the other side of the door. He waited a few seconds and then knocked again. I took a deep breath and opened the door.

"Listen Roxas, just hear me out, ok?" He pleaded, gripping the door frame, apparently thinking it would stop me from slamming the door again.

"You have two minutes before I slam it, and hope that it doesn't do too much damage to your hands," I snarled.

"You really want to do that?" he asked, calling my bluff. I cursed in my head and moved aside, letting him in. I didn't feel like letting the rest of the building know what was going on.

"Still," I said, turning and walking back to get my soda, "two minutes."

"Okay, I'm really sorry about how I acted today. I knew a couple teachers were getting suspicious of us, so I couldn't pay much attention to you, which was really fucking difficult." He sighed, "Forgive me?"

Damn his puppy face. As hard as I tried to glare, I usually couldn't resist anything like that. But I figured there's a first time for everything.

"Fabulous, thanks for sharing," I spat, waving him out the door. However, he didn't move. He just stood there looking upset, giving me that puppy face again.

"Damn it! Fine…but how is this gonna work out?" I sighed, rubbing my temples.

"We'll just have to be careful and make sure no one finds out about us." He mused, wrapping his arms around my waist. I moved maybe a centimeter away, not wanting him to think he won completely.

"I guess you're right," I mumbled. He pulled me over to the couch and sat down. Or, more like Axel sat down, and I curled up on his lap. We stayed like that for a while, Axel absentmindedly stroking my hair as I flipped through channels; rather bored. Eventually, I decided I wanted more soda, and reached out for it on the coffee table. Axel decided this would be a good time to make a move. He smirked, shifting our position so that he was on top of me. I teasingly rolled my eyes.

"So much for being discreet," I said, turning my head away. He pulled me back and kissed me for a second, baiting me.

"I just couldn't help myself," He said, still smirking. I leaned up and pressed my lips to his roughly, letting the kiss linger longer than I normally do. I usually wouldn't be this much of a tease, but it was fun to see him squirm. But, he seemed to have other plans. He ran his hand through my hair and pulled me closer. I squeaked at the slight tug at my hair. I slid my arms around his neck, wondering why I couldn't pull him any closer. He seemed surprised at my interest, but was quick to accept it. His mouth descended until his lips brushed against my neck; I flinched away and bit my lip. I pulled him back up to my face and gently brushed his lips with mine. I was starting to get a little nervous as his other hand caressed my waist and his tongue skillfully slipped into my mouth.

"ROXAS!" I heard Sora yell from a few feet away. I hurriedly pushed Axel off of me; I could feel my face growing hot. He fell back onto the other side of the couch, wide-eyed. Sora didn't look so tired or upset anymore; just angry.

"Um…Sora…Hi," I said, scratching my head, "I thought you were going shopping?" This seemed to be a habit we had: catching each other...in odd situations.

I swear I heard Riku snicker in the background.

_A/N: We hope you guys liked this chapter! :'D Reviews are always very appreciated. _


	8. Argument

_A/N: Holy crap, over 1,000 hits! Thanks so much! 8D Also, there's quite a bit of cursing in this chapter, so be prepared. xD_

**Axel POV**

"Roxas? Mr. Lea? What the hell is going on here?" Sora screamed, stomping over toward me. Riku was still standing by the door, shaking his head. I wasn't sure if it was at me, or at the tiny brunette that seemed on the verge of a heart attack.

"Wait, Sora, I can explain!" Roxas pleaded, grabbing his brother's arm. The brunette yanked his arm away, glaring at me. "Will you just listen?"

"You! What do you think you're doing? You're like…old! Roxas is only fifteen!" He snapped. I stood up, irritated. I really didn't care about the age difference between Roxas and I.

"Sora, calm down!" Riku sighed, walking over to us. Ignoring him, Sora quickly lunged and attempted to punch me. I grabbed his small fist and twisted his arm, just enough to hold him still. I made sure not to hurt him. As much as I wanted to, I knew Roxas would be upset with me if I did. Sora struggled wildly, as I held both of his arms behind his back.

"What the fuck is your problem?" I asked angrily. Riku roughly yanked Sora away, holding onto his arm.

"Enough! Stop acting like a child," he yelled, sounding annoyed with having to reprimand Sora like a child. "Now, apologize." Sora shook his head.

"There's no fucking way I'm apologizing to him!" He growled, thrashing around. Roxas walked over and stood in between me and his brother.

"I can't believe you tried to _hit _him! I didn't try to hit Riku when I walked in on you two!" He was shaking with anger, probably ready to lunge at Sora, but I held him back. Riku looked at me, then Roxas, then the door. I took the hint that I should take the kid and run for a bit. I sighed, but Riku's expression was begging.

"Roxas…let's just get out of here for now, okay?" I said softly, trying my best not to snap on Sora, who was still arguing with Riku about how horrible it was that I was here. Roxas paused for a moment, before nodding sadly and holding onto my arm. We walked out into the hall, much to Sora's dismay.

"Is your brother normally like that?" I asked, heading towards the elevator, Roxas finally releasing my arm. For a second, I thought it'd be best to just go over to Zexion and Demyx's place and drop him off there to avoid further arguments from Sora. But, against my better judgment, I pressed the button for my floor and held the elevator doors for Roxas.

"I guess you do really live in this building," Roxas teased. I looked down at him, and he smiled. He still seemed a little annoyed with the whole situation but I took his lead and ignored it. The doors opened to the third floor and I lead him down the hall and opened the door. He stood in the hall awkwardly and I laughed.

"Come on in, I don't bite," I teased, pushing him inside. Roxas laughed and looked around.

"So…what do you wanna do?" I asked, running my hair through my hair, "We could go on a date or something, if you want to."

"I dunno…can we just stay here and hang out?" He frowned, shifting from side to side. I looked at him as he did so, finally noticing how tired he looked. He looked up at me and smiled, but moved a few inches away.

"That's fine by me. We could just watch a movie?" I suggested, kicking off my shoes and placing them out of the way. Roxas did the same.

"Sounds great," he smiled.

I told him where the DVDs were and that he could pick what we watched. He walked over and sat cross-legged, flipping through the titles.

"You can't have a good movie date without snacks," I said with a smile, wandering into the kitchen. I made some popcorn and grabbed a few candy bars and sodas. I figured Roxas probably wouldn't want beer. By the time I got back into the living room, Roxas had already picked out a movie. I sat down next to him on the couch, wrapping my arm around his shoulders.

"So, what movie did you pick?" I asked, as he curled up against my side. He shrugged.

"I wasn't really paying attention," he yawned, "some action movie."

"That doesn't really narrow it down," I teased; he looked up and glared slightly.

"Well, I don't know any of your movies that well, so I just grabbed the first one that looked good enough," he teased, pushing me lightly. I moved away, letting Roxas fall over on the couch as he lost his balance. I laughed and he looked up at me, lying out on the couch.

"Oh, I'm _so_ sorry," I purred, leaning over him.

"Very mature, Mr. Lea," He smirked, pushing himself back up and folding his arms across his chest.

I leaned over and brushed my lips again his lightly. He seemed a bit startled, but soon he wrapped his arms around my neck.

"Better than watching a movie you don't even know the name of, huh?" I murmured, breaking the kiss. Roxas just pulled me back in response. I smirked, licking his bottom lip. His breath hitched for a moment, before he opened his mouth slightly; tangling his hands in my hair. I slowly slid my tongue into his mouth, massaging his. He hummed contently, following my lead. I pulled away slightly, gazing down at him; his face was flushed, his eyes closed. Smiling, I leaned down, leaving a trail of light kisses down his neck. As I reached the nape of his neck, I bit down slightly; biting the skin there just enough to leave a small bruise…

A loud explosion from the movie snapped us out of our moment. Roxas jumped almost two inches off the couch and looked around. I raised an eyebrow and he smiled, embarrassed.

"Sorry," he mumbled, rubbing his neck lightly, still blushing.

"Feeling a little jumpy?" I commented, and he sunk back into the couch.

"Just a bit," he muttered, turning to the TV, as a few characters began fighting. I watched him for a second, waiting to see what he wanted to do. But, to my disappointment, he seemed interested in the movie. I sighed and got comfortable. Roxas put his feet up on the couch, placing his head on my chest, and wiggling around a bit to get comfortable. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders and we sat quietly.

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Two long, boring hours of clichéd lines and unrealistic explosions later, the credits began to roll. I began to wonder why I had even bought the movie.

"It's over?" Roxas asked, sounding exhausted. He hadn't said a word for most of the movie and I had assumed it was something I did. Now it seemed he had just been asleep the whole time.

"Yep, just ended a few minutes ago," I replied as he sat up and stretched. "Did you like the movie?" I joked.

"It was okay, I guess," He yawned, "I really only liked the beginning, though." Roxas ended his sentence with a small smirk. I gave him a swift kiss and got up to take out the movie. He dropped back down on the couch as I did.

"Still, it's getting kind of late, and I'm pretty sure Sora's pissed enough already, so you might wanna head home," I mumbled, fumbling with the DVD player. I didn't really want him to leave, but I also didn't feel like having a scrawny brunette banging down my door for his brother.

"I guess…" I heard him mumbled vaguely from the couch. I finally managed to get the thing open and pulled, the now most likely scratched, DVD out and put it into the case.

Before I could say anything else, I noticed he was already asleep on the couch. I sat down by him and smiled, brushing his blond hair away from his eyes. Eh, how bad could it be if he spent just one night here? I thought about putting him in my bed and taking the couch, but every time I made an attempt to move him, he just rolled away. Sighing, I walked over to the closet and got a few blankets and a pillow out. After I tucked Roxas in, I went to bed as well.

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I awoke that morning to a little blond curled up in my arms. I would've sworn he fell asleep on the couch last night, but I wasn't about to complain. I could get used to this. Not wanting to wake him up, I stayed still. After a few more minutes, little Roxas began to wake up. He yawned softly; his eyes fluttering open.

"'Morning Sunshine," I smiled.

"…'Morning," he grumbled groggily, "wait…what? Axel? What the…" He moved across to the other side of the bed, almost tumbling out.

"It's alright, don't freak out," I laughed, still wondering how he ended up in my bed. Sitting up, I stretched my arms and yawned.

"How…?" He asked, flabbergasted. I couldn't help but laugh as I watched him try to remember what was going on.

"Hell if I know. You were asleep on the couch when I went to bed. I didn't want to wake you up," I explained, swinging my legs off the edge of the bed and stretching again.

"Huh…I guess I got cold or something and wandered in here," he mused, getting out of bed too.

"See," I laughed, "no need to get all freaked out over nothing." Before I could even blink, a pillow smacked the back of my head. I turned around to see a smirking Roxas holding another pillow. I glared lightheartedly.

"Yeah, nothing at all," He teased.

"So, that's how it's gonna be, eh?" I smirked, picking up the pillow off the floor and chucking it at him. He quickly jumped out of the way, laughing. "I guess this brings up your argument about maturity from before?"

"Well, it's cuter when I do it." He protested, but I simply rolled my eyes.

"Uh huh, sure it is," I mumbled, smiling. I got up this time and grabbed some jeans to change into. "Go…brush your hair or something," I directed. I couldn't tell him to change or anything since he slept in what he came over in. He raised an eyebrow and stared for a second, but finally shrugged.

"Sure, wouldn't want to go back when my _hair_ is a mess," he laughed.

I changed into a black button down shirt and a pair of jeans, finished the rest of my routine, and walked out into the kitchen to find a bored Roxas sitting at the table.

"Hungry?" I asked, hugging him from behind. Before he could respond, his stomach rumbled loudly. "I'll take that as a yes," I laughed, opening the fridge, only to find a surprising lack of food. "Uhh…wow, I need to go grocery shopping…Are waffles ok?"

"Sounds good to me," he smiled, kicking his feet back and forth lightly.

I put some waffles in the toaster and got some orange juice out of the fridge. Roxas managed to find the clean plates and cups in the mess that is my kitchen and set the table. After a few minutes, the waffles were done and we sat down to eat. We were both pretty hungry, so it didn't take us long to eat. Roxas was the first to get up, looking around for the trash. I pointed towards the sink and he dropped his empty plate and cup in.

"Well, our little slumber party's been fun, but I really should get going," he teased, hugging me.

"We'll have to do it again sometime," I winked. I had to laugh when his face turned completely red.

"Of course," he teased back, "now I'm off to be screamed at," he laughed nervously.

"They shouldn't be too mad," I frowned, "do you want me to come with you?" His eyes widened as I asked and he almost laughed for real.

"Nah, I'll be okay. Thanks though," he mumbled, giving me a half smile. Walking over, I tipped his chin up slightly; one arm still around his waist, and kissed him lightly.

"Now get outta here," I teased.

"I'm going, I'm going," he laughed, walking towards the door. He hopped around trying to put on his shoes, clawing at the door frame as he almost fell.

"Bye Roxas," I laughed, shaking my head.

**Riku POV**

For the second night in a row, I didn't get much sleep. The funeral on Thursday kept us all up but Sora's ranting and raving kept me up all night. When that boy had his mind set on being angry, he didn't calm down for a while. When Roxas and Axel first left, I spent about twenty minutes listening as he yelled at _me _for letting them waltz out. Then for another ten minutes about how wrong it was that Roxas was making out with someone probably ten years older than him (I stupidly corrected him by saying it was probably closer to four years older) and worked for the school. It took forever but I finally got him to sit down, relax and watch some TV with me. Eventually he went down to continuing his rants every commercial to every other one. At some point, probably when he started to freak out about Roxas not being home, I gave up and put in a movie so there was no chance for him. And that's how it went until about three in the morning, and at some point he even stopped trying to bring it up. But, either way, that boy could talk. Hopefully he wouldn't hold a grudge for whenever Roxas did get back.

"Morning," Sora said, rubbing his eyes as he stumbled into the kitchen.

"Morning," I replied, cooking eggs and bacon for breakfast. Just as we were getting ready to eat, Roxas sheepishly walked through the door.

"…Hi?" He smiled nervously. Sora simply glared at him for a moment, before ignoring him.

"Hey, you're just in time for breakfast," I smiled, setting another place at the table.

"Uhh…no thanks, I already ate," he gulped, starting to walk toward his and Sora's room.

"Roxas," I said sternly, "Where were you?"

"…With Axel," he mumbled, like a child being scolded.

"All night?" I asked, trying not to sound too much like a disappointed mother.

"Yeah…" He trailed off, "I'm just gonna…go now." And with that, he walked into their room and shut the door.

"That's seriously all you're gonna do?" Sora spat angrily, standing up.

"What did you want me to do?" I groaned, irritated. I swear, Sora was taking this way too seriously. Frankly, I didn't have a problem with Axel; I'd known him for quite a while, and he's a pretty decent guy. I think Sora's just really overprotective of Roxas. I'm trying to understand his point of view, but it's getting really difficult when he starts to blame me for everything. "He's your brother anyway. If you see something wrong with it, _you_ do something." Sora was ready to snarl another reply but he knew I was right, so he kept his mouth shut. I smiled at him triumphantly and turned back to the cooking.

"Well, what would I do, if I were to do something?" He asked. At least the silence lasted a minute or two. I pulled the frying pan off the stove and shoveled some eggs onto Sora's and my plate, debating on how to answer. I sat down across and he looked over at me, waiting for a response.

"I don't know, Sora," I mumbled, looking at my food. This shouldn't be my problem. "Just talk to him, without flipping out. Axel isn't a bad guy, I promise."

"FINE!" Sora groaned, picking up his fork. "But it'll wait until after I eat." He finally smiled, taking a bite of his food. I smirked.

"Why so happy all of the sudden?" I asked.

"Not happy exactly, more impressed," he teased. "Who knew you could be good with these kinds of problems?" I rolled my eyes.

"I can be sensitive," I mumbled, slightly offended.

"Don't worry, Riku, l know," he winked.

I turned away before he could notice the pink tinge to my cheeks.

_A/N: Don't worry; Sora won't be a dick forever. xD He'll get over it. Reviews are very much appreciated. :'D_


	9. Fight

_A/N: Another not so friendly chapter. But hey, it's high school. ._._

**Roxas POV**

The last week seemed to fly by. Already, it had been two weeks since I started going to school here. It was pretty exhausting, but it could be a lot worse. I mean, I have a great boyfriend and a couple decent friends already. Sora and I still weren't getting along very well, but he's just going to have to get over it. I wasn't even entirely sure why he was so interested in my love life anyway.

When Thursday finally came around, I was already ready to go back to the apartment and crash until Monday. I lay my head down on the table and closed my eyes. Maybe the teacher wouldn't mind if I slept through class…again. It was art. I could catch up later on my own. Seifer had taking it into habit of glaring at me from across the table on daily basis, usually making me too nervous to look down for more than a second. But today was one of those 'I couldn't care less' days because I was about to pass out on the table. It helped that Seifer seemed just as tired, and was already asleep.

"Roxas?" A small voice called, "you up?" I rolled my head off my arms and looked up to see Namine. I smiled, tiredly.

"Hey," I half yawned and she giggled. I looked at her and sat up, slightly confused. "What's funny?"

"Fun night, Roxas?" She asked, stifling another laugh, trying not to wake up Seifer. Now I was even more confused, but I was almost positive I knew what she was talking about. Axel and I had another 'date' the night before. He pretty much dragged me to his place after school and we watched half of a movie, and spent the other half…not watching it. Still, I didn't want to draw any attention to myself, just in case she was referring to something else.

"I mean, I guess." I mumbled, bringing my shoulder up nonchalantly to cover my neck. It didn't work. She pushed my shoulder down and poked the small bruise Axel had left.

"Who have you been with?" I could feel my face turn red and she broke out into a full out laugh this time. I yanked my light grey hoodie over my head and let my head fall back down.

"Stop, Namine! It's not funny," I whined. She pulled me back up.

"If I help you, will you at least tell me who it was?" She said, attempting to pull my hood off. I tugged back, even though it was childish.

"Help me and I'll think about it," I grumbled, winning our tug-of-war. I looked over at her and she smiled.

"Okay, get up. I'll cover that right up." She said, now tugging my arm. I slid up and Namine went to the teacher; making up yet another excuse for me. I rolled my eyes as she came back, dragging me out.

"I'm too good to you, Roxas," she teased as we left the room.

I had an eerie feeling that this would involve something I wouldn't enjoy. Apparently her cover up fell into that category. She assured me I was pale enough for in to blend perfectly with her light shade of makeup. Even though it did, I still didn't want to wear makeup. She asked a few more times as we walked back towards class. Luckily no one seemed to notice.

Feeling a bit more comfortable with the fact I was getting away with the small amount of make-up, I drowsily stumbled through the rest of the first half of the day; considering I didn't really sleep well last night and I didn't get a chance to sleep in art, like I had planned to. Hopefully, I didn't miss anything too important in my haze. And after what seemed like years, the lunch bell rang.

I eventually made it to the crowded cafeteria, looking around. I thought about heading towards the lunch line but today's lunch smelled terrible. I weighed my options and decided to skip lunch and try to find Axel instead. He said he'd try and swing by around now, so I was hoping I'd catch him at the right time. Nonchalantly, I snuck out of the cafeteria and walked over toward the track. After looking around for a while, I eventually found him leaning against the fence, hidden behind the bleachers. I wasn't surprised to find him smoking.

"Hey," I smiled, walking over to him. He looked up and quickly dropped his cigarette, stomping it into the ground.

"Roxas," He said, leaning back on the fence. "Don't you look smart today," He said, playfully. I punched him on the arm and he laughed.

"I look like I'm hungover; and I hardly slept, because you insisted I stay longer," I rolled my eyes. He snickered.

"I wasn't going to say it like that, but kind of, yeah." He laughed. "But, it's still cute." He quickly wrapped his arms around my waist and kissed me lightly. I rested my head on his chest, until I heard footsteps nearby. I practically leapt out of Axel's arms and turned around to see Seifer walking away.

"Shit, did he see us?" I asked, panicked.

"I don't know…hopefully he didn't see anything," he frowned. I moved away and peaked around the corner, brushing Axel off as he reached to pull me back. Maybe I was being paranoid, and he hadn't seen anything. But I was almost positive that I was lying to myself. I didn't have much time to think it over because not even seconds later, the bell rang. Which meant it was time to go to geometry, my worst class. I sighed and kissed Axel's cheek lightly.

"I gotta go," I mumbled, walking away quickly. I was almost sprinting but the time I reached the building, my heart and mind racing. What if Seifer had seen something? I stopped outside my class room, trying to breath. I didn't want to seem anxious. I managed to calm myself down by the time I got to my seat. What was the worst Seifer could do? He had no proof. No one would believe him.

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Geometry was, as always, painfully boring, and I didn't understand what the teacher was blabbering on about. I tried to stay focused on the lesson, and even take a few notes for later, but eventually I gave up. Deciding now would be as good a time as any, I put my head down and fell asleep after a few minutes. I ended up not waking up until the bell rang.

I sat up, still tired and pushed my books sloppily in my back pack. I looked around and collected the worksheets that were shoved around my desk, untouched, and put them in too before zipping it up. '_I really need to stop sleeping in class,' _I thought, knowing that this would definitely affect my grade. I shrugged it off though. I could probably get some help from Demyx's roommate.

On my way to gym, Sora stopped me in the hallway; which was weird, considering I didn't usually see him much during school.

"Uhh…hey, what's up?" I asked. As he got closer I noticed something in his expression. He looked pissed.

"You fucking know what's up!" he snarled angrily. I almost smirked, because I was right about him being angry, but I felt it was smarter not too.

"Woah, chill out, what's wrong?" I stepped back, wondering what the hell was going on.

"Seifer told me what you two were doing! Shit, Roxas. Don't be such a whore!" He yelled; his fists clenched at his sides.

"W-what? But…but, it was just a little kiss…" I tried to explain, holding my hands instinctively in front of my face, ready to block any hits.

"…It was?" He asked, looking shocked. As he calmed down I felt it was safe for me to stand up straight.

"Yeah…What the hell did Seifer tell you?" I asked, now getting angry myself. What the hell was Seifer trying to do?

"He said that you two were like…_doing things_…" He explained; suddenly very fascinated by his shoes. I paused for a moment think about what he said, until I realized what he meant.

"…We weren't doing anything like _that_!" I assured him, trying not to sound too frustrated with him. Before he could say another word, I left to go find Seifer. I was so pissed off, I wasn't even thinking straight.

"Where are you going?" Sora yelled after me, sounding somewhat worried now. I didn't bother answering; I just stomped down the hallway, ready to deal with Seifer. In retrospect, however, that probably wasn't a good idea.

When I did find Seifer, he seemed quite amused with the little conflict he had started; chatting lightly with another girl. Her name was Fuu, I think. She looked at me with a blank expression. Thankfully, it seemed he hadn't spread his lies further. I walked over.

"Seifer!" I snapped, and he didn't turn around. The girl glared at me for interrupting their conversation, but stormed off as Seifer whipped around.

"What the hell do you want?" He snapped, and I shrank back a bit. I cleared my throat and stood up straight, trying to look a bit more confident. Even standing as straight as I could he was still at least a foot taller than me. "Are you going to say anything?"

"Why the hell did you lie to my brother about…" I didn't finish the sentence but I didn't need too. He knew exactly what I was referring to.

"Because I can?" He folded his arms across his chest, looking at me waiting for my response. I wanted to hit him, but part of me knew that was exactly what he wanted me to do. I let my clenched fists drop by my sides.

"Well, I just wanted to let you know that you're a complete asshole. Although, I'm pretty sure a tool like you is already aware of that." I snarled, amazing myself and him with this slight burst of confidence. Seifer's just continued to glare, but I was still a bit cocky from my comeback, so I didn't flinch.

"Whatever," Seifer said and I turned to leave, slightly more satisfied, until he opened his mouth again. "Fag."

I spun around on my heel and smashed my fist into his jaw, without a second thought. I pulled my fist back, biting my lip at the slight pain in my hand after hitting him. Seifer, who had only stumbled for a second at most, was regaining his composure and his anger. The next punch was from him. His fist collided with my nose and I could feel warm blood begin to spill out. My hands shot to my face as I desperately tried to keep it from getting everywhere. Seifer moved closer and hit my stomach, causing me to double over. Before I could even think about regaining my balance, I felt him pick me up by the back of my hoodie and slam me into the wall. I struggled frantically to get away as he smashed his fist into the side of my jaw. I managed to dodge a few of the hits and he'd smash into the brick, allowing me to squirm out of his grip. Still, even after I hit the ground, the hits kept coming.

"Hey!" I heard someone yell, and I rolled on my side as Seifer finally let up on his kicking. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"Get lost, Demyx!" I heard Seifer snap, and I pushed myself up. My nose was still bleeding and my whole body ached, but I managed to sit up.

"Um…some help would be nice," I groaned to Demyx, who dropped down next to me, looking worried. Seifer quickly stomped over toward us; swinging at Demyx. He ducked out of the way surprisingly fast, and grabbed my bruised arm.

"Going somewhere, Fag?" Seifer taunted, raising his fist again. Demyx quickly kicked his legs out from underneath him and dragged me away while Seifer was still getting up. We managed to get to Demyx's car before Seifer caught up with us, and we peeled out of the parking lot.

"Shit, Roxas, are you okay?" He asked, panicked. I tried to respond, but all I could do was cough up a little blood.

"That kid has some serious anger issues," I finally managed to say, but the words came out more strained then I had planned. Still, I was surprised I didn't really hurt too much. I guess the adrenaline hadn't worn off yet. I think Demyx was talking to himself about something, but I didn't catch what he was saying. Before I knew what was going on, he dragged me out of the car and into his apartment.

"Zex?" he called out, "Zexy?" Demyx kept yelling for Zexion as he pretty much carried me to the couch and pulled out his phone. I laid on the couch helplessly as Demyx freaked out. Everything hurt and I couldn't get the coppery taste of blood out of my mouth. '_I'm so pathetic…I couldn't even defend myself…against Seifer, of all people._' I thought, frowning.

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**Axel POV**

Setting up the equipment wasn't the highlight of my day. It was already bored out of my mind and it had only been like five minutes. Why I had taken this job was a mystery. In the end it was probably a tie between the small amount money the coach gave me out of pity for doing the work and being able to put it down on my college application. Just as I finished setting up, my phone vibrated. I took it out of my pocket and answered.

"Hey Dem, what's up?" I asked, slightly apprehensive. Demyx rarely called unless it was important…to him anyway; he usually just texted.

"Uhh…can you come over?" He asked nervously. I rubbed my eyes and looked at my watch. School didn't end for another twenty minutes and practice was another thirty after that; which made me wonder why the hell Demyx wasn't still in school right now. Apparently I didn't answer soon enough. "Like now?" He added franticly.

"Fine, but if this is just because you and Zexion are having a fight or something, then I'm going to kill you for wasting my time," I sighed, about to hang up, but Demyx began to speak again.

"Oh, can you see if he's still at the school?" Demyx asked anxiously. "I kind of forgot to tell him I took the car when I left."

"You two aren't together?" I asked as I began walking back towards the building.

There was some ruslting on the other end and I heard Demyx yelling at someone in the background. "Hey, keep your head back like I told you! Zexion will kill me if you make a mess." After more rustling, he was back to finish our conversation.

"Right, well, I was in a rush. Give him a ride, please." And he hung up. I looked at my phone angrily and shut it, stuffing it back in my pocket.

"This better be good, Demyx" I mumbled to myself, walking towards the building to go find Zexion.

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Zexion was as annoyed as I was as I yanked him away from the papers he was grading for Vexen, the science teacher he worked with. As we walked he began to rant about how Demyx needed to grow up and take care of himself sometimes; something he complained about on a regular basis. After a few minutes I just began to tune him out, turning on the radio the second we closed the car doors and began to drive.

"What could he possibly need _both_ of us for?" Zexion snapped again, as we got closer to the building.

"You know you'd hate if he stopped asking for you help." I teased, turning off the car and walking into the building, Zexion trailing behind me.

"Well, just not all the time," Zexion mumbled. He knew it was true, so he let the conversation drop. I rolled my eyes and knocked on their apartment door. I heard some stomping and Demyx whipped open the door, looking scared. I was wondering if he was more scared of the glares he was receiving from both me and his boyfriend, or the fact there was some blood on his shirt.

"Hey…is that them?" I heard Roxas call from inside, sounding a bit dazed. Demyx's eyes darted back towards where I assumed he was sitting and bit his lip.

"Please don't kill me," he cringed, before opening the door all the way, letting the two of us walk in. I looked around to the kitchen to see Roxas sitting at the kitchen table, blood stained under his nose and a cut above his eye. There were various bruises on his arms and one or two on his face. I pushed past Demyx and Zexion and over to Roxas as the two stood in the door and began to argue.

"What the hell happened?" I demanded. Roxas looked up at me and smiled weakly.

"Seifer's a dumb bitch, man," Roxas slurred, still sounding totally out of it. I looked back at Demyx.

"What the hell did _you _do to him?" I snapped.

"I just cleaned up the blood and gave him some ice…" He trailed off.

"Then why does he sound like he's drunk?" I asked, sounding less annoyed then I really was. Zexion looked at him, just as curious for this answer as I was.

"Well uh…" he started, scratching his head, "he was practically crying in pain and I couldn't find the pain medicine so…"

"So?" Zexion asked, trying to get him to finish his point.

"I kind of just gave him some cough syrup…I figured, you know…maybe he'd sleep off the pain," Demyx explained sheepishly, ending his sentence very quietly.

"You gave him _cough syrup_?" I asked, pinching the bridge of my nose. Demyx only shrugged, still looking at his feet. At least he tried, I suppose. Looking over at Roxas, I noticed he was half laying on the table and starting to slide off of his chair. I frowned, picking him up carefully. He winced lightly; burying his face in my shoulder. "Did you give him the whole damn bottle?" I asked, trying not to sound as angry as I was.

"No, it was almost half empty so I just gave him the rest." He explained defensively.

"Right. Well, next time, try not to OD my boyfriend. Okay?"

"Give him a break, Axel," Zexion interjected, finally stepping in to the conversation. Demyx perked up a bit. "Granted, it was a stupid idea," he finished, making sure Demyx knew that it was.

"It's alright now, don't worry," I whispered, carrying him to the couch. He mumbled something, but I didn't quite understand what he said. I laid him down gently and put a blanket over him. "Do you need anything?"

"Uhh…I th-think I'm okay…k-kinda," he slurred, still dazed.

"I think you need to get some rest…" I muttered, gently kissing his forehead.

"D-don't go yet," he whimpered, clinging to my shirt.

"It's okay, I'm not going anywhere," I insisted, cradling him in my arms. He nuzzled into my neck, humming contentedly. I held him close until he managed to fall asleep. After carefully laying him back on the couch, I kissed him lightly. I walked over to Demyx and Zexion who had moved to the kitchen to continue talking.

"So…what exactly happened here?" I asked quietly, still shaking slightly with anger. Demyx explained what he'd seen happen, and what Roxas told him before I got here. I knew Seifer was an ass, but he went way too far.

"That fucking bastard!" I spat, turning to leave.

"Dude, calm down…" Demyx mumbled quietly. Zexion sighed, knowing that was a stupid thing to request.

"I will _not_ calm down! He hurt Roxas!"

"Don't do anything stupid," Zexion tried, but he knew I wasn't going to listen. I practically ran out of the building; I was fucking livid. I kept walking down the street for what seemed like hours, still seething. Still, I knew, Zexion would make sure Roxas was taken care of, so at least I didn't have to worry about that for now.

I was starting to wonder if I'd ever find the little shit. This would be so much easier if I could get to him on campus, but I wasn't about to lose my job over him. After another block, I glanced over and saw him walking on the other side of the street. Gritting my teeth, I crossed the street and followed him at a distance for a while. After we got to a more secluded part of the city, I caught up with him.

"Seifer," I snarled, stepping towards him.

"The fuck do you want?" He spat, turning around to face me.

"Leave Roxas alone," I demanded.

"Awh, is someone mad their little boyfriend got his ass kicked?" He cooed antagonistically.

"Last chance; _back the fuck off_," I growled; I was seeing red at this point.

"What're _you_ gonna do about it?" He snapped, getting in my face.

I lost it; I grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the brick wall. I smashed my fist into his nose as hard as I could, hoping to break it. That little shit deserved everything he did to Roxas tenfold. In between punches, he head butted me and I stumbled back briefly. Still clutching his bloody nose, he swung at my face, but I ducked out of the way. Before I could regain my balance, he tackled me down. He managed to punch me once before I kicked him off. He quickly threw another punch at me, but I caught his fist and twisted his arm behind his back.

"Leave. Roxas. Alone," I snarled, tightening my grip on his arm.

He winced in pain, and muttered, "Fuck you."

I growled and slammed him face first into the wall again, still keeping my grip on his arm. He kicked off the wall and we both fell backward, landing on the sidewalk. Seifer was taking longer to get up this time, he's probably getting tired. I grabbed a fistful of his hair, dragging him up. He smashed his fist into my jaw, and I kicked his knee out from under him mercilessly. Still absolutely livid, I flung him onto the ground. He sat up, clutching his knee in agony.

"Listen, you little bitch, if I _ever _find out that you've been bothering Roxas in _any _way, you'll be breathing through a fucking tube when I'm finished with you," I snarled, kicking him brutally. I only stopped when he sputtered, "Okay, okay," as he coughed up some blood. I smirked deviously and started walking back to the apartment to check on Roxas. I had a feeling this was going to come back to haunt me, but at this moment, I couldn't care less.

_A/N: We hope you liked the chapter. And as always, we adore reviews :)_


	10. Weekend, Part 1

_A/N: This chapter is way less violent than the last one. xD _

**Riku POV**

Normally, Friday would be relaxing. The last day before a nice, calm weekend, and this was a three day weekend too. But this time, I wish we could just go straight to Tuesday and get the weekend over with.

"Riku, what the hell?" Kairi asked, slamming her hand down on the lunch table. I jumped and looked at her. She rolled her eyes and leaned back, playing with her hair. "You were tapping on the table and it was getting on my last nerve. Sorry," she mumbled, and Sora snickered. The three of us were sitting at one of the smaller tables out in the courtyard with our lunches, although Sora was the only one actually eating.

"Sorry Kairi," I sighed, bringing my hands off the table and letting them hang next to my sides.

"Why are you so nervous?" Kairi asked. Sora took a sip from his water and pushed his now empty tray to the side, waiting for the answer to Kairi's question.

"My mom is coming for the weekend and-" I started to say, but Sora cut me off.

"Oh, Yuffie is coming?" He asked, and Kairi elbowed him in the side.

"He obviously wasn't finished," she scolded, rolling her eyes. I couldn't help but laugh, but it was a shaky, nervous laugh.

"Yeah, well, my dad's coming too, so I'm not exactly excited for that train wreck," I sighed. Sora suddenly seemed interested.

"Leon is coming?" He demanded, the urgency in his voice startling both Kairi and me. She looked at him and he shrunk back. "I just don't like the guy."

"Neither does Yuffie, so it's going to be even worse." I mumbled, putting my head down.

"Why don't your parents like each other?" Kairi asked, sipping her water.

"Well…long story short, my dad left when I was 7 and never really helped out much after that. I guess he wants to make up for it now or something," I explained, wishing this weekend was over already.

We sat in the awkward silence my comment had created until the bell rang minutes later, and we all went to class. I didn't really pay much attention for the rest of the school day. Unfortunately, it went by pretty fast; which meant it was time to go home and start preparing for my parents to visit...

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We eventually got back to the apartment. Roxas was curled up on the couch, watching TV. Sora and I put our backpacks away and I figured I should tell Roxas what was going on this weekend. I walked over toward him and sighed.

"Hey, uhh…Yuffie's coming over this weekend," I mumbled, scratching the back of my head.

"Oh cool," Roxas yawned. He seemed kinda out of it, still. But for the most part he looked like he had spent all of the day on the couch.

"…So is Leon," I sighed.

"How's that gonna work?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I don't even know. I guess we'll just have to see how it goes," I mumbled, "in the meantime, we should probably start cleaning up this place." The two looked at me and I shrugged. "I'm being serious, let's go."

The cleaning went by pretty fast, mainly because there was hardly anything to do, and we only really had to do what was going to be seen. So in other words, we rushed through it, stuffing clothing into drawers and papers behind tables; anything to make the place look presentable without doing much or taking too much time.

"What time do you think they're coming?" Sora asked, as we finished up. Roxas was heading back over to the couch slightly hunched as he walked, probably still in a bit of pain. I sat on the arm of the couch and shrugged, glancing at the clock.

"Yuffie should be here soon for dinner, then going to stay in a hotel. I don't think Leon's coming in until tomorrow. And he's actually sleeping here." I explained with a sigh.

"Awesome," Roxas mumbled into the couch. Apparently the dislike for my father was mutual between the three of us. I felt a bit bad, but if he wasn't such a jerk then maybe everyone wouldn't be against him.

There was a small knock at the door, followed by the turning of a key. Even though she had a key, Yuffie still knocked, unlike my father would. She actually respected people's privacy like that.

"Hey guys," she called, laying her purse on the ground by the door as she came in. I got up and walked over to hug her.

"How've you been?" I asked as Sora and Roxas got up to greet her.

"Pretty good," She said, turning to grab her purse. "I got you guys some presents," she squeaked and I couldn't help but laugh. Her little trinkets from the various places she'd been to were sweet, but it reminded me of something a grandmother or a great aunt would do. She handed Sora a chain with a silver and yellow key, and handed me a figurine of a lion. When she turned to Roxas she almost dropped the small snow globe of a castle, before turning to look at Sora and I. We avoided her gaze, Sora looking straight up at the ceiling.

"Does someone want to explain why the hell Roxas is beaten up?" She demanded.

"My face isn't the worst part." Roxas laughed, but Yuffie didn't think it was so funny. She snapped her head back to Roxas, who realized now that he shouldn't have said that. She lifted up the end of his shirt to see various other bruises.

"I knew you were walking funny," she snapped.

"Well some kid-" I started, attempting to explain the situation. Roxas cut me off however.

"It's not a big deal Yuffie," He laughed, shooting a look at me that said 'don't say anything'. I sighed and let him lie. It probably wasn't a good idea to tell my mother the real reason. "Nothing to worry about." Yuffie still looked skeptical, but it seemed that that was the end of the conversation.

"Well Riku made dinner, so let's eat." Sora said with a smile. We all sat down to eat, chatting about how our days went and Yuffie's travels. About an hour after we'd finished eating; Yuffie decided she should go get settled in her hotel room. She hugged all three of us and left. I was so glad she didn't seem suspicious of Sora and I. Who knows what would happen if she found out?

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We got up early and rushed around, trying to prepare for Leon's arrival. It wouldn't have been so bad if we didn't dislike him so much. Or if his presence didn't make you feel like you had something to prove. Unlike with Yuffie, we pulled out the vacuum to do the carpet, and swept the kitchen. I wanted to dust too, but Sora insisted I was over reacting. So we finished our last minute cleaning and organizing, and then decided to watch some TV while we waited. And waited; and waited. He eventually showed up several hours later than he said he would. And instead of being polite like Yuffie was, he just barged in the front door.

"Hey there, Riku! What's-…Who are they?" He asked; his eyebrow raised, and a lit cigarette hanging out of his mouth.

"They're Sora and Roxas," I sighed, really wishing he wasn't here. "You don't remember them from Destiny Island?"

"Riiiight," He said, "Cloud's kids right?" I nodded with a heavy sigh.

"Uhh…hi," Sora mumbled, shifting from foot to foot. Roxas just looked up at the ceiling.

"Well, why are they here?" He demanded, scowling. "Is Cloud too busy for his kids now?"

"Well he's dead, so I assume not," I glared. Sora flinched slightly at how blunt I was and I knew I would need to apologize later.

"Oooh…well, okay. That kinda sucks," he mumbled, scratching his head. "Where's your mum?" He said turning back to me.

I saw Roxas out of the corner of my eye, clenching his fists. Even though the conversation had switched subjects, this wasn't going to go well. Before anything could happen, though, there was another knock at the door. I pushed past Leon and opened it to see Yuffie.

"Speak of the devil," he muttered under his breath, as she walked in and fixed him with a glare. If looks could kill...Leon'd be screwed.

"Leon," She scowled, which was probably the nicest greeting she could manage.

"Well, it's nice of you to show up, Yuffie. Late like usual." He spat.

"Excuse me, but according to our son, _you _were supposed to be here two hours ago. I said I'd be here at five-thirty and look at that," she checked her watched as she spoke for extra emphasis, "It's five twenty-seven." The two continued to argue back and forth as the rest of us watched in silence. After a minute or two, Sora leaned over towards me.

"Don't you guys have reservations?" Sora pointed out. Yuffie had insisted we go out to dinner, so yesterday she called a local restaurant. I had begged Sora and Roxas to come, even Yuffie thought it was a good idea, but Roxas didn't want to go looking all beat up and, well, Sora didn't want to be around Leon. I didn't blame them, but I wasn't getting out of it that easy. I sighed and stepped forward.

"Okay guys, well, we better go," I told the two of them, and they both turned their attention away from each other. Yuffie smiled.

"That's right; we have to get to dinner." She smiled, trying to cover up her anger with a sweet tone, but she sounded fake, nonetheless. "Leon, you can take your car. Riku can ride with me." She finished without even looking back at him.

"Fine, I'll bring in my stuff when your mother thinks we have a minute to spare," He spat sarcastically, and with that, he was out the door. As soon as it closed behind him Yuffie noticeably calmed down, her stance less defensive and her expression softened. Everyone else loosened up too.

"That wasn't awkward at all." Roxas muttered, flinching a little bit as he put his arms across his chest. He smiled lightly trying to break some of the tension still in the room.

"I'm sorry everyone," she apologized, wrapping her arm around me. I leaned towards her slightly so she could reach better, considering she was almost a foot shorter. "None of you should've had to see that."

"Don't want to keep him waiting," Sora said sarcastically, rolling his eyes.

"You're right." She laughed. "I'll try to swing by after dinner but if not, I'll see you two tomorrow," she smiled, referring to Roxas and Sora. The two nodded, smiling as well. I opened the door, waved goodbye, and walked out; Yuffie closing the door behind us.

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We got back to the apartment a few hours later. Yuffie and Leon couldn't manage to spend more than ten minutes without arguing; thus why I have a pounding headache now. They managed to keep it quiet for the most part during dinner, but it got louder the longer we were there. Like when there's a baby crying in a restaurant and you just want to tell their parents to shut the damn thing up? That was the look I was getting from half the restaurant. When we finally left, I was ready to scream. Can this weekened be over yet? Still, at least Yuffie was getting ready to leave for the night.

"So, where do I sleep," Leon demanded impatiently, looking at my mom with the same glare he had all night.

"Uhh, I guess you can take my room," I mumbled, running my hand through my hair. The sooner we finished the arrangements, the sooner Yuffie left. The sooner she left, the sooner I could get some sleep, even if it was on the painfully uncomfortable couch.

"Nonsense, he can sleep on the couch," Yuffie chimed in, scolding him.

"It's no big deal; I can sleep on the couch…" I explained, trying to avoid yet another argument.

"No, I'm the man, I'll sleep on the couch," he added gruffly, irritating everyone. I couldn't help but laugh a bit at Sora's face palming. Yuffie, who was probably the most annoyed at this point made the decision for us.

"Leon, just take Riku's room. He's being hospitable enough to let you stay here, you should at least do what he wants you to," Yuffie snapped, "besides, Riku can stay in Sora and Roxas's room."

"Well, actually, I'm…uhh…staying with a friend this weekend," Roxas spoke up, blushing slightly.

"Does this _friend_ have red hair?" Sora mumbled, rolling his eyes. My parents were too busy with each other to notice Sora's comment or the context behind it. I tried not to laugh, coving my mouth with my hand and pretending to cough.

"_Maybe_," Roxas winked as he snuck past Sora, who was trying to remain composed in front of Yuffie. He looked over at me, and I just rolled my eyes. I wasn't about to get involved in another conflict. Roxas came out carrying a small bag and walked past.

"Bye Roxas, have fun," Yuffie called, without even looking away from Leon.

"Later guys," he called, smiling slyly at Sora as he fled the apartment. The slam of the door broke then the silent war between my parents and Yuffie turned to Sora and I, her sugary voice coming back.

"I'll be going then," she smiled and grabbed her purse from the door.. She hugged Sora and then me, before opening the door. "Bye."

A silence fell between the three of us, and Leon eyed the TV.

"Alright, well, I'm gonna head off to bed then. "'Night you two," I yawned, walking into my room. I changed into some sweat pants and a t-shirt, before heading back through the main room. By now Leon was sitting on the couch, flipping through the channels, Sora sitting awkwardly on a chair he'd brought in from the kitchen. He looked over his shoulder at me as I slid into the room he shared with Roxas. I waved goodnight, before shutting the door. I hit the lights and slid into one of the bed that I assumed was Roxas's and closed my eyes, feeling like I could sleep until Tuesday.

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I awoke to someone poking my cheek lightly. I groaned, rubbing my eyes. I glanced over at the clock; it was 1:37. Why the hell would anyone wake me up at freaking 1:37 in the morning?

"Whaaat," I mumbled, rolling over.

"Psst, Riku. Are you awake?" Sora whispered. I could hardly see him in the dark.

"I am now…" I yawned, sitting up. "What do you need?" I tried not to sound as annoyed as I felt at being woken up. But it was Sora, so I figure I could make an exception.

"I can't sleep," he mumbled, hugging his pillow. I rubbed my eyes and looked at him finally be able to see a little more than his outline.

"Well…I guess you could sit with me for a bit," I said trying to sound more awake than I felt.

"Awesome," Sora grinned, jumping down on the bed. I yawned again.

"Sora, I'm really tired, so just lay down and go to sleep, so I can too," I groaned, lying back down. Even this early, he had way too much energy.

"I'm not tired though," he whined, stating the obvious. I pulled the pillow over my head and shrugged.

"I don't care." I responded. Sora, apparently not satisfied with my response, yanked the pillow away from my face and slapped me with it. I sat up, starting to get annoyed.

"You're boring sometimes." He teased, getting ready to smack me again. I grabbed his wrists, daring him to try to hit me again. An awkward silence fell between the tiny amount of space left between us. It was the same sort of silence from the first time I kissed him without warning. I let go of his wrists and leaned forward, pressing my lips against his for a split second. He flinched for a second and I was sure I was screwed again, but he didn't get upset. He wrapped his arms around the back of my neck and pulled me close, kissing back. I smirked; wrapping my arms around him and rolling over, effectively pinning him beneath me. He looked up at me; his cheeks stained a deep red. I leaned down slowly, brushing my lips against his ever so slightly. He tangled his hands into my hair and deepened our kiss; until the door suddenly opened. I panicked, practically flinging him onto the floor and kicking a blanket over him. Seconds later, Leon walked in.

"Where's the remote?" He asked sleepily. It wasn't something I wasn't used to, but I had forgotten his habit of sleepwalking. He wouldn't remember anything in the morning, and just be wondering why he wasn't in bed.

"Probably on the couch," I answered, slightly creeped out.

"Okay," he mumbled, walking back out into the living room. After he pulled the door close and I watched until I was positive it had shut. Leaning over the edge of bed, I pulled the blanket off of Sora and helped him back onto the bed.

"I'm really sorry about that…" I whispered, holding him closer.

"It's okay," he sighed.

"Now," I purred, "where were we?"

"Yeah... I'm not a fan of being shoved on the floor," he yawned, "Plus, your dad killed it." Sora dropped back on the bed, curling up and pulling the pillow under his head. I raised an eyebrow at him, although I wasn't sure he could see.

"So, you're staying over here?" I asked.

"What? I don't want to get up." He mumbled into the pillow, not looking up.

"No….I guess not." I lay back too, trying to figure out how Sora and I would manage to share one pillow. Sora repositioned himself, so his head was resting on my chest. I smiled, wrapping my arms around him, running my fingers through his hair. He fell asleep quickly, and I could feel my eyelids getting heavy too.

_A/N: Thanks for reading! In the next chapter, we'll see what Axel and Roxas are up to. :O And as always, we adore reviews. :)_


	11. Weekend, Part 2

_A/N: So much fluff in this chapter. xD Seriousness will come in a chapter or two._

**Axel POV**

I woke up way later than I'd intended to. Yawning, I glanced over at the clock and noticed it was 2:30. Didn't think I was that tired last night, but oh well. At least I felt pretty refreshed. I decided to shower and get dressed, just in case I felt like going out later. After I finished making myself presentable, I sat on the couch, bored as ever. For the most part I sat in front of the TV, hardly paying attention; I had my feet up on the table comfortably and was pretty relaxed. I was still a bit shocked to find that I had dozed off…again. I sat up, wincing slightly as I did. As nice as it was to sleep all day, it always gave me a headache. I looked around the apartment, trying to find something to take. When I finally found the aspirin, I downed two without any water and went into the kitchen.

The last thing I wanted to do was stay home by myself. Still, at this point, it didn't seem like I had much of a choice. It was already getting late and people probably already had plans. Besides, I wasn't about to be someone's third wheel. So, it looked like pizza and some movies would be my best option. Grabbing my cell phone off the counter, along with the phone number of a post-it on the refrigerator, I dialed the number and ordered.

I threw the phone towards the couch, hoping it'd land safely so I didn't risk too much damage, and looked around for my lighter. There were only a few cigarettes left in the pack, and I had planned to cut down, but one couldn't hurt. I could probably even get away with just opening the window and letting the smoke out that way instead of walking down and out the building.

Holding the lighter between my teeth and grabbing one out of the box, I opened the window, and attempted to sit comfortably on the window's ledge. Before I could even light it, there was a small knock at the door. I turned and glared at the door, slightly annoyed at the intrusion. It was too early to be the food, so maybe if I waited they'd just leave.

"Go away," I mumbled quietly. There was another knock followed by a muffled voice from the other side of the door.

"Axel," Roxas called, "you home?"

I almost fell off the window, dropping the lighter as I tried to regain my balance. I sprinted over to the door, ditching the cigarette by the lighter and opening the door quickly. I leaned on the door frame, looking down at the little blond.

"Hey," I grinned, running my hand through my hair, trying to look calm and like I hadn't just ran to the door like an anxious puppy. Roxas looked me over and raised an eyebrow.

"Hey," he snickered, "In a rush for something?"

"Going somewhere?" I countered, motioning my head towards the small duffle bag he was holding. His face tinted pink and he looked at the floor.

"Actually," he asked with a nervous smile, "I was wondering if I could hang here for the night? The apartment is a bit awkward with Riku's dad around."

"Sure thing, we can have that slumber party," I winked, bowing in a mock fashion, and moving so he could walk in. He rolled his eyes as he walked in.

"Oh yeah, totally," he laughed jokingly, setting his bag down by the couch and sitting down. I walked over, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"So, dare I ask what the deal with Riku's dad is?" I hummed, resting my chin on his head.

"Eh, he's a total ass," he explained, leaning back against my chest. "There's just a lot of tension going on between them right now."

"Sounds like fun," I teased. We chatted like that for a while, until there was another knock at the door. Once again I half hoped the intruder would leave, but I was starving, and it was probably the food. Roxas looked towards the door, then back at me with a shrug. I sighed and let go of him.

"Mrr, that's probably the pizza guy," I explained, walking over to answer the door. Sure enough, it was. He handed me the box and I paid for the pizza quickly, shutting the door. I set it down on the table, and looked back over to Roxas.

"Hey Rox, you hungry?" I grinned, grabbing a chair for him at the table.

"Sure," he smiled, sitting down. I grabbed us a couple sodas and we ate. I couldn't help but laugh when I looked up to see that Roxas had a bit of sauce on the corner of his mouth.

"What's funny?" He asked, confused. I simply shook my head and smiled. Leaning over toward him, I carefully licked the small smudge of sauce off the corner of his mouth and kissed him. He seemed a bit surprised, but leaned into the kiss anyway. I wrapped my arm around his waist as he tangled his hands into my hair. Grinning, I slid my tongue into his mouth playfully, as he hummed contently and mimicked my actions. A few moments later, I broke the kiss and saw that he had quite the pink tint to his cheeks.

"You had a bit of sauce on your mouth," I smirked.

"…Remind me to get sauce on my mouth more often," he laughed, standing up, turning away so I couldn't see how red his face was becoming.

"Oh, I will," I winked, as we cleaned up the table. "So, what do you want to do now?" I asked.

"Hmm…I guess we could go for a walk or something. It's a pretty nice night."

"Sounds good," I smiled. I grabbed a jacket, and Roxas pulled a grey hoodie out of his bag, wrapping it around himself. He walked over to the door and with that, we headed out into the hall and down the elevator until we reached the lobby.

Walking out of the building, it turns out Roxas was right; it was a nice night. It was mild with a slight breeze. We wandered aimlessly for a while, until we decided to go to a nearby park and sit for a while. No one was really out at the park, except for a few younger kids skateboarding, and a couple or two. We opted to sit on a bench underneath a large oak tree, whose leaves were just starting to fall. It was towards the back of the park, in a more secluded area, so we had a bit more privacy. I leaned back and wrapped my arm around him, and he snuggled into my side, pulling his legs up on the bench. We stayed like that for a while, just enjoying being close to each other. But after about twenty minutes, Roxas broke the silence.

"So, how long have we been dating?" Roxas asked, out of nowhere. I was a bit thrown off by the question.

"Two weeks and some odd days," I said, hoping this wasn't a test, and if it was I didn't fail. He seemed to guess what I was thinking, and laughed.

"I'm not trying to trick you," He smirked.

"Then why'd you ask?"

"Don't you think it's weird that like this'll be the second time I've spent the night at your place?" He mumbled, obviously feeling a bit awkward.

"Well, the first time, you fell asleep on accident," I said, trying to reassuring. "And this time…I dunno, I don't think it's a big deal." I watched him as he thought about this, biting his lip. He looked so cute as he tried to process the situation.

"Yeah, I guess." He sighed, leaning forward and running his hands through his hair. I stood up and pulled him up off the bench.

"It's getting kind of dark, wanna head back?" I asked, smiling. It was already dark actually, considering we left around eight. He nodded and our short adventure in the park ended.

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It was somewhat awkward back on the couch in the apartment. Roxas was sitting at a small distance on the couch, his hands in his lap staring intently at the TV. I tried to pay attention, but I couldn't help but switch back and forth. As bad as I felt saying it, but it was somewhat amusing to watch him sit nervously. He looked towards me and I turned away quickly, trying to hide my smirk. He punched me in the arm.

"Shut up," He grumbled, folding his arms across his chest.

"I didn't say anything." I stated calmly.

"You were thinking it."

"Thinking what?" I asked, this time actually laughing.

"That I'm being stupid for being all weird about this," he slumped down into the couch.

"I think it's cute." I teased, pulling him towards me. This time I made sure he couldn't escape. I pressed my lips to his neck and he squirmed around in my grasp. He moved on the couch so he could kiss me back. Happy with this change, I wrapped my arms his waist, pushing him down. He broke our connection and looked up at me, biting his lip again.

"So you really don't care about-" he started to ask, but I cut him off, shaking my head. He looked confused, like he couldn't tell if I was answering his question or I just thought he was being stupid, so I leaned down and kissed him again. He clung to me, trying to be as close as possible. I smiled, brushing my lips against his neck teasingly. He wiggled around under me, and we fell off the couch with a thud.

"You ok?" I mumbled between kisses.

"Y-yeah," he shuddered, his cheeks stained a deep red. I held his wrists down above his head, and leaned down to kiss him again. He licked my lip lightly. I was a bit surprised, but content nonetheless. I slid my tongue into his mouth, swirling it around. He writhed under me, and I released his wrists. He quickly wrapped one arm around my waist, and tangled his other hand into my hair. I sat up slightly to cradle him in my arms. He smiled, breaking our kiss. I hummed happily as he kissed and nipped at my neck and lifted my shirt up.

'_I didn't think he wanted to do this yet…Oh well, whatever he wants.'_ I thought, letting him take my shirt off. I kissed him lightly and tugged his shirt off as well, tossing it aside. He clung to me tightly, pressing our lips together roughly. After a few minutes, I broke our kiss and began leaving a trail of kisses down his neck. He gasped and squirmed around a bit more, pulling my hair as he did. Smirking, I reached down and started to undo the button on his jeans. He yanked away quickly, his eyes growing wide.

"A-Axel," he muttered quickly, his breathing somewhat shaky.

"Something wrong?" I asked, concerned.

"I can't…not yet. I'm not ready yet," he frowned, sitting up. "I'm sorry." He crawled away to his shirt, pulling it over his head and leaning against the couch. He looked extremely embarrassed and still somewhat nervous.

"Don't worry about it." I said, "It's okay. I understand," I brushed my hair out of my face. He nodded very quietly, still not looking at me. I sat on the couch sprawled out, so I could wrap my arm awkwardly around him. He leaned closer to me and sighed, and we sat in silence for a minute or two. He finally gave a small, somewhat forced laugh.

"Sorry," he mumbled again, sounding a bit guilty. "I feel kinda bad for that…"

"I'm not going to be upset with you for being nervous." I said; trying to reassure him it wasn't a big deal. As much as I wouldn't mind continuing, he was a bit younger and I didn't want to push him. He looked up and gave a small smile.

"I guess…" He moved my arm off of him and stood up, stumbling a bit as he did. He grabbed the edge of the couch for balance and I snickered. Shooting me a playful glare, he grabbed his bag off the floor. "I'm going to go change. Mind if I use your shower?" He asked. I nodded, trying not to make a smartass comment about that. He was already feeling awkward and I didn't want to make it worse.

"There's towels and stuff in the closet," I explained, looking over the edge of the couch as he walked off. He looked over his shoulder, and I smiled playfully. Rolling his eyes, he shut the door and a few moments later, I heard the water start. I sighed, slightly disappointed that our moment got cut short. Unfortunately for me, I still had a bit of a _problem._ Damn it. _'Uhh…think of something not Roxas-related.' _I thought to myself, turning on the TV. Yawning, I decided to go change into some comfy clothes to sleep in. At least my _problem_ was gone by the time Roxas got out of the shower.

He walked out of the bathroom and sat down next to me, his blonde hair dripping water on the couch. I smiled, kissing his cheek lightly and ruffling his damp hair. He snuggled into my side and we watched some random sitcom while Roxas absentmindedly picked at a stray string on the end of my shirt. When it ended, I picked up the remote and flipped through the channels. He yawned lightly, and I glanced at the clock to see it was after midnight.

"You look tired," I commented.

"I am," he yawned again.

"We can go to bed, if you want?" I offered.

"Sounds good," he mumbled sleepily. I moved to get up, but he didn't budge. I waited a minute, wondering if he was really asleep or just didn't want to walk. Not wanting to take the risk of waking him, I decided to just carry him to bed. Tiptoeing to the other side of the apartment and using my foot to push the bedroom door open, I gently put him down. I watched him for a second before sitting on the edge of the bed next to him. He wiggled around, getting comfortable on the bed. He obviously wasn't completely out yet. I swung my legs across the bed and laid down next to him. He rolled onto his side so he could rest his head on my chest, cuddling up to me. I smiled, pulling a blanket over us and wrapped my arm around him, holding him close. I kissed his forehead lightly and leaned back against the pillows, relaxing. After a few minutes, I started to get sleepy as well. It was lovely, drifting off to sleep with my little Roxas in my arms. I really could get used to this.

_A/N: B'aww! :3 Hope you enjoyed the chapter! And as always, we love reviews. :'D_


	12. Old & New

_A/N: So we're kind of jumping week to week with this thing, timeline wise._

**Roxas POV**

The first day of school after the long weekend was an interesting one. Or at least, art class was amusing. I sat down and Namine strolled over happily.

"Hey Roxas," she smiled, sliding into Seifer's seat across from me. He was late so she sat down, flattening her white dress over her legs. "How was your weekend?"

"It was okay," I yawned, stretching out across the table. "It was a bit awkward with Riku's parents around." My tee-shirt sleeve slid up as I said this, revealing a small collection of light bruises from my fight on Friday. They were mostly healed, but still slightly noticeable, especially to Namine, who questioned them immediately.

"What happened?" She asked, in almost the same tone Yuffie had had when she asked.

"Got in a little argument with someone on Friday," I laughed, pulling my sleeve back down so it covered the bruises.

"With who?" She asked, still using that motherly tone. I didn't answer immediately, my eyes darting to where she was sitting. It was only for a split second, but she seemed to catch the idea.

"It really wasn't a big deal," I laughed again, but nervously this time. The bell rang and the last few stragglers snuck into class, one of them being Seifer. He looked like he was in worse shape than I was. Namine stood up very politely, but I could tell there was something different about the way she did. I didn't want her to say anything, but she made a bee line for him, catching him while he was getting ready to sit down. He looked nervously over her head. Even with the fact that I had a _boy_friend, I wasn't going to lie, she was very attractive.

"Hey Namine," he mumbled, making an attempt to step around her. She stepped gracefully in front of him, her flats clicking on the tile floor. I leaned around my desk so I could catch the whole scene. I watched as a dark smile crept on her lips.

"Seifer, I heard there was a fight on Friday," she purred lightly and Seifer smiled too, but in a much more cocky way.

"I kicked the kid's ass," he sneered.

"Yeah, Roxas," she spat, not breaking her hard gaze with him. "I saw,"

"I guess I did a good job then," he grinned, and I could feel myself getting angry. Namine took a step forward, her head not even coming up to his shoulder. Still, Seifer took a step back.

"I'm going to have to ask you to not do that," she growled darkly, "Ever again. You see, I may be a girl, and I may be smaller than you, but I could easily make your life a living hell." Everything about her tone made me believe that that'd be easy for her. Seifer seemed to be getting the same vibe.

As much as I didn't need a girl, especially one as fragile and tiny as Namine, to stand up for me, I had a lot of respect for her after that. And I even convinced her to come with me that weekend to meet some of my old friends. So, on Saturday the two of us sat on one of the benches in the train station, waiting for them to arrive.

Namine seemed a bit nervous, which was out of character for her. She was picking nervously at the fringe on her dress. I looked at her curiously.

"You okay?" I asked, tilting my head to look at her face, which was hidden behind a curtain of blonde hair. She nodded.

"Meeting new people is always a bit odd. Makes me a bit nervous," she explained.

"You seem fine at school." I pointed out, and she shrugged.

"That's different. I've known the majority of those people for at least a few years." she explained, folding her hands in her lap. I nodded.

"Makes sense. But don't worry, it'll be fine. They're all nice, and you and Olette should get along pretty well. She reminds me of you a bit." I assured her, patting her lightly on the back. She smiled and stood up. "The train from Twilight town is coming in," she stated, seeming slightly more relaxed after my pep talk. We waited at the platform until Hayner, Pence, and Olette stepped off the train and walked over to us. Hayner was the first one to reach us, Olette close behind, and Pence bringing up the rear, almost like they were racing. And I wouldn't be surprised if they were.

"Hey guys!" I grinned, giving Olette a hug, and smiling at the other two. I took a step back and waved my hand towards Namine, who had her head down. "This is Namine." I grinned, introducing her to the other three. She smiled sweetly and greeted each one. They introduced themselves, her and Olette already talking like they were friends. She looked over and I smiled, as to say she had nothing to worry about. We started walking to the pizza place, which conveniently was only a few blocks away from the train station. We walked for a bit in silence (with the exception of the girls) before Hayner finally spoke up.

"So Rox, is Namine your girlfriend?" Hayner winked, elbowing my side. Before I could even reply, Namine was struggling to hold back her laughter.

"N-no, we're just good friends," I explained, much to Hayner's dismay.

"That's too bad, she's cute," Pence chimed in.

We made it to the restaurant after a few minutes of walking and chatting. It was a buffet style restaurant, so we just paid our way and got what we wanted. I couldn't help but laugh at Pence's attempts at flirting with Namine.

We had just finished eating and were getting ready to leave when Seifer, Rai, and some dude with dreadlocks showed up. I mentally cursed at them when they started walking over to our table.

"Oh hell," I mumbled.

"What's the matter?" Olette asked looking from me to Namine, hoping someone would fill her in. Hayner and Pence seemed slightly oblivious.

"Those guys who just walked in are total assholes."

"What's up, lamer?" Seifer sneered, leaning against the table.

"Back off, Seifer," Namine glared evilly, standing up. Seifer looked nervous for a second but shook it. I glanced over to see Pence and Olette looking rather uncomfortable, and Hayner was…checking Seifer out? I shook my head and looked again, this time he was glaring.

"Awh, little Namine thinks she's tough," he cooed; before glaring and lashing out to hit her. Suddenly, a hand grabbed Seifer's wrist before he could make contact and yanked him away from her effortlessly.

"You know, hitting girls is _incredibly_ shameful." A tall man with light pink hair sneered. He let go of Seifer's arm.

"Whatever, Roxas can take her place," he glared.

"That's not a bright idea. Axel could be here pretty quickly," he laughed darkly, throwing his small silver phone up and down in his hand "Why don't you and your little friends just run along?" Oddly enough, they listened to him and begrudgingly left.

"Who are you?" Namine asked, smiling and sliding out from behind the table and looking up at him.

"I'm Marluxia, but you can call me Marly," he winked, "What's your name, sweetheart?"

"I'm Namine," she giggled lightly. Pence made a show of rolling his eyes at her awe struck display, but she didn't seem to notice. Olette seemed to be just as impressed, leaning her head on her hand and staring across the table to him. The rest of us almost groaned.

"So, how do you know Roxas?" Namine asked, not looking away from him.

"I don't," I spoke up. Namine looked over at me then back at Marluxia. He nodded like it wasn't a big deal.

"I'm a friend of Axel's," he explained, and even though the five of them looked confused, he still continued. "He's Roxas'-" I cut him off.

"He's my friend." I explained. "Well, more like Riku's friend. He lives in our building," I stuttered over the words, talking quickly; a failed attempt at trying not to sound suspicious. Marluxia raised an eyebrow at me, but shrugged it off.

"Right, well, both of them wanted me to keep an eye out since I'm always wandering around the town." He said, lying on the both part, no doubt. "In either case, I'm off." he bid farewell, turning to leave. He turned back to Namine and leaned down to her height to whisper something. She nodded in reply and he winked, heading out the door. She stood there for a second, before turning back to Olette, a huge smile on her face. I shook my head and was about to say something, but Olette almost pushed me down, trying to get out of the booth. She ran up to Namine and the two of them started giggling and talking a thousand miles a minute. I let my head bang down onto the table.

"Well, that was eventful," Hayner mumbled, getting up from the table too.

"Yeah, who was that prick, Roxas?" Pence asked, referring to Seifer I assumed. "He was a total ass."

"Some guy I have a class or two with at school." I shrugged, leaving it at that. Namine whispered something to Olette, who spun around.

"He beat you up!" She asked, almost yelling. I winced at the frantic tone in her voice. I shot a glance at Namine, who shrugged before looking back out the window of the restaurant, no doubt looking for Marluxia.

"It wasn't a big deal," I moaned. What was it with girls and this stuff?

"Besides, it looks like he got a few hits in," Hayner pointed out. I thought back to the fight. I didn't. But still, on Tuesday, he came in looking worse than I did. I briefly wondered who beat up Seifer. I made a mental note to find out who it was and thank them.

"Heh, yeah," I grinned, even though I only hit him once. Even after the weeks I had been here, I still wasn't completely familiar with the town. So, when the three asked where we could go to hang out, I stood there with no answer. Namine giggled, and jumped in front of the group.

"Well, I can give you all a tour." She giggled lightly. "I know my way around here pretty well." I nodded, standing next to her and turning to the group too.

"Are we all good with that?" I asked. And Olette nodded happily, and Hayner shrugged.

"Sounds good to me," Pence said in a distant voice. His pride was obviously a bit damaged by being shown up by some random guy, but it didn't stop him from staring at Namine constantly. She turned around, pointing straight ahead.

"Right!" She announced, taking a step forward. "Then away we go." She began to walk. I laughed a bit at her attitude but we all followed. We walked through the town, Namine pointing out buildings as we went, explaining what they were. After a while, we stopped by a park and chatted for a while longer, before we decided it was time to go. Hyaner, Pence, and Olette's train would be here soon, so the five of us headed back. Namine and I said our goodbyes, Namine making sure to get Olette's number so they could talk more. We waved as the train took off and stood there for a few moments after it left.

"Ready to go home?" I asked, turning to her. She nodded and gave me a quick hug.

"Thanks for letting me tag along today," she said happily, "it was nice to meet them."

"No problem," I replied, heading towards the exit. The two of us walked quietly, Namine looking over at me every now and then, giggling.

"Roxas," she asked quietly, "Can I ask you something?" She seemed serious about this, and I began to get a bit nervous.

"Um…Sure, Namine," I said awkwardly, expecting the worst.

"Well, don't get offended…" She started tilting her head away from me, to avoid my gaze. A smile broke over her serious face. "But… you never did tell me who gave you that hickey and that's just not something a guy gets, so…" She paused again, and I blushed a bit. "You have a boyfriend, don't you?" She exclaimed, finally getting to her question. I turned away, now utterly red, and walked a bit faster.

"Uhh, Namine, that's…" I couldn't think of any way to explain it without lying flat out. I'd feel guilty lying to her, but more guilty about lying about Axel. I didn't seem to need to answer.

"Oh my god! You do, don't you?" She squealed, jumping with excitement. I raised an eyebrow, a bit curious to why she wasn't more…negative about the situation. "That's so cute!"

"It's not that big of a deal," I mumbled, watching her excitement. "Just let it go."

"Wait…" She exclaimed, and I sighed. She was figuring out too much, too fast. "That man with the pink hair,"

"Mar- something," I suggested.

"Marluxia. Well or Marly…" She swooned, her voice becoming distant and dreamy. She shook her head and returned to the situation on hand. "Anyway…He mentioned a boy. Axel, I think. It's him isn't it?"

"Namine," I pleaded. "Can we keep this a secret for a bit? Please?"

"You don't need to be embarrassed about who you like, Roxas." She chided.

"No, it's not really that," I sighed, starting to walk away again. "It'd look bad for him to be dating a stu-" I stopped myself from finishing the sentence, and hoping she hadn't heard me even start it. I turned to see if she was following but she seemed to be thinking over what I had just mumbled.

"Student…That would make him…and the name does sound familiar…"

" Just stop thinking about it," I demanded, speeding up, but she followed.

"It's that track couch! The red head! OH MY GOD, HE'S LIKE FIVE YEARS-" I clasped my hand over her mouth before she finished. Her eyes turned mischievous, and I could feel her mouth curl into a smile under my hand.

"Please don't tell anyone." I begged, letting her go. "And it's only like four years and a few months." I looked at her, waiting for a reply. "How do you know all this stuff anyway?"

"I'm a girl, and your friend." She stated. "I know everything."

"Right…" I rolled my eyes. "Let's just head back."

"Well…" she started, and I raised an eyebrow, "I was actually going to walk over to this flower shop." She explained, pointing off in the direction I assumed it was in. I shrugged.

"Fine," I sighed. "Have fun." I turned to see her already walking in that direction. She waved goodbye.

"I'll text you!" She called, and I nodded, before heading home. The walk wasn't that long, considering we had gotten most of the way there already. After getting into the building, I headed towards the elevator, thinking. Maybe Namine knowing wouldn't be such a bad thing. I was sure I could trust her.

The doors slid open and I casually walked down the hall, and as I opened the door, an angry looking Sephiroth stomped out. He didn't even stop to say anything, and I assumed it was because he probably didn't see me. Uncle Sephiroth was taller than my father, making him much taller than me. He walked straight towards the elevator I'd just come off of, not even turning around as he went in.

I raised an eyebrow and walked into the room. I looked around at my brother and Riku, who looked extremely pissed, "Uhh…why is he here?"

"Don't worry about it," Riku seethed, clenching his fists. Sora's eyes were a bit red, possibly from crying and headed towards the bathroom, slamming the door behind him.

"I can't really, not worry about it with Sora like that." I pointed out. Riku whipped around and shot me a dirty look. "Never mind." I turned around and headed back into the room and shut the door. The two of them were starting to be a lot more secretive, but the apartment usually had a pretty comfortable atmosphere. But now it was a lot more tense and hostile. And I had a feeling Sephiroth had something to do with it.

_A/N: Hope you all liked the chapter! As always, we love reviews. :)_


	13. Rave

_A/N: Oh, poor Roxas. xD I swear we pick on him too much. But it's so fun! D: Anyway, hope you guys like this chapter. :D_

**Roxas POV**

Namine didn't bring up the conversation we had on Saturday evening, and I was thankful for that. Still, when she saw me walking to track practice, she'd giggle a bit. I rolled my eyes and waved her off when she did though. She wasn't saying anything, so it didn't seem to be a problem. I just hoped she wouldn't let it slip to anyone, because that could get Axel in trouble.

On Wednesday, she slid into the seat next to me, ignoring Seifer's silent protest. At this point, the teacher didn't care that much where we sat as long as we worked, but Seifer seemed a bit annoyed. He didn't say anything so Namine just went ahead and talked like he wasn't even there.

"So Roxas, what are you doing tonight?" She asked. I watched Seifer out of the corner of my eye, as his look changed to shock. It did kind of seem like she was asking me out.

"I hadn't planned on doing anything." I hadn't really. I thought about heading over to see Axel, but I wasn't sure if he'd be around. "Why do you ask?"

"Well…" She looked over at Seifer, raising an eyebrow as if asking him to leave. He didn't move for a minute. After she realized the glare wasn't working, she gave an innocent, pleading look. "Can we have a moment?" She asked sweetly. He sighed and got up, shooting her a glare as he walked over to find some more supplies.

"I'm surprised that even worked," I mumbled, turning in my chair so I could see her better. "So what's up?"

"Okay, well, you remember that guy from the restaurant when Seifer came by?" She squeaked. I nodded and she jumped to finish explaining her plan. "I met with him at the flower shop, and we've been talking for the past few days and he asked me out!" She explained excitedly, almost yelling. I raised an eyebrow.

"And this involves me, how?" I asked.

"Three ways," She grinned, holding up her hand, counting off. "One: I can't go by myself. Or tell my parents that I'm going with someone older, so if worst comes to worst, I can tell them I was out with you. Two: You love me," She winked playfully. I rolled my eyes at her joke and she continued. "And three: it gives you a chance to hang out with Axel,"

I think it was the third reason that got me to agree in the end.

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I always hated how I ended up getting myself into these kinds of messes. I sat on the edge of Namine's bed with practically my entire wardrobe scattered throughout the room. She had raided the apartment, shoving everything into bags before we left for her house. Couldn't I just wear normal clothes to this thing? What was the big deal with raves anyway? Is it even technically a concert?

I was interrupted from my internal monologue when she threw another outfit at me and told me to go change…again. For the fifth time, I grumbled and walked into the adjoining bathroom to change.

A few minutes later, I walked back into her room and hoped she would be content with this outfit. Even though I'm pretty sure I didn't put it on right. There were only like twelve belts and zippers. She took one look at me and promptly laughed.

"What'd I do wrong?" I asked, picking at one of the belts.

"Your pants are on backwards!" She laughed, nearly doubling over.

"Oh…that's kinda awkward," I laughed, walking back into the bathroom to fix my pants. I walked back out in the black, sleeveless, lace up shirt and almost painfully tight, black skinny jeans. "Namine, I'm not wearing this. I will not leave this house."

"They're your clothes," She pouted, folding her arms. I rolled my eyes, trying to force my way out of the shirt. She laughed.

"Only the pants are mine. The shirt is _yours_," I snapped, finally able to breathe when it came off. For a second it was kind of awkward standing there in front of Namine without a shirt, but she seemed to be completely oblivious to my discomfort. I rubbed my eyes and looked at the small alarm clock on her dresser and sighed. "When are we supposed to be there again?" I picked up a plain black t-shirt and pulled it over my head.

"Fine, you can wear the t-shirt." She grumbled.

"I would either way." I huffed. She pouted for a second but rolled on across the bed to see the clock.

"Alright, now it's time for accessories! We gotta leave soon!" She chirped, jumping to her feet.

"…I thought these _were_ the accessories?" I whined, pointing at all the belts and zippers she insisted I wear.

"Oh Roxas, you're so funny. Those are just part of the outfit." She laughed again, grabbing other accessories. I held my arms in front of me, blocking her from getting any closer. "Fine, you can take off some off the belts but you have to wear something else." I pulled off a couple of the belts as she walked over and wrapped a black, leather collar around my neck.

"Am I done yet?" I groaned. "I'm not a dress up doll. You know that right?" I tugged at the necklace she just put on me. "Or a dog."

"Of course not, silly! We still have to do your hair and makeup!"

"My _what_?"

"You heard me, now sit still." She demanded, gathering up her hair and makeup supplies. She spiked my hair even more than it usually was; which I thought was impossible until she proved me wrong. I stopped her before she could had too much black hair…stuff into my hair. As simple as it sounded, it still took a good twenty minutes to do. Then she said it was time for her favorite part; makeup.

"Nami, do I really have to wear makeup to this thing?" I pleaded.

"Yes. Stop whining, you're gonna be hot when I'm done." She smirked, putting foundation or something on my face. After she was finished with that, she got out a stick of eyeliner.

"There's no way I'm wearing eyeliner! I might as well just hand over my man card now!"

"Oh come on, Axel's probably gonna be wearing it too." She scoffed, knowing she'd won. Happily, she started smearing that black gunk all around my eyes and put mascara on my eyelashes when I wasn't paying attention. For the finishing touch, she stained my lips a dark, red color.

"And viola! You're done," she squealed in delight. I was almost afraid to look at myself in the mirror. "Don't even try to wipe that makeup off while I'm getting ready," she chided, before walking into the bathroom to change. I nodded, putting my headphones on and turning on my iPod, playing it quietly in case so I could still hear when she came out. I watched her leave the room and jumped up, not caring what she said. I looked around for something I could use to wipe it off and ended up just grabbing a stray shirt to get it off. I got all the red and the majority of the face stuff off, but the eyeliner was proving to be more difficult to get rid of. She knocked loudly on the wall and I pulled out the headphones.

"Ready to see?" She called from the bathroom.

"Yeah," I called, and the door flew open. I had expected Namine to dress different but I hadn't expected what she was wearing, and I was a bit shocked to find out skirts even got that short. She was wearing a tight, black, lacey corset (similar to the shirt she'd try to get me to wear), a black and white skirt, and ripped fishnet stockings. Her boots looked heavy, but she moved as gracefully as always, as she spun around so I could see her outfit. It was the first time I'd seen her not wearing light pastels, and somewhat wholesome clothing. I sat in silence.

"Hello?" She asked, walking over and waving a hand in front of my face, her bracelets clinking as she moved. "You alive?" I blinked and backed away across the bed awkwardly.

"You look nice," I mumbled, pulling out my head phones and wrapping them up.

"You think I'm hot! You think I'm hot!" She teased. "Oooooh, I'm telling Axel." I rolled my eyes.

"You look good, Nami." I got up and moved around her, opening the door. "But I still prefer my boyfriend." She laughed and grabbed a small black bag out from under the shirt I'd wiped the makeup off with.

"Roxas…you took the makeup off!" She scolded; practically tackling me to make sure I sat still. I sighed overdramatically as she quickly reapplied the makeup I wiped off.

She pushed me through the door, tossing me my black hoodie and looked around the hall. "Okay be quiet, I don't know if my mom's home or not, and she'd kill me if she saw me." I wasn't surprised.

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We left her house around eight thirty, and even though Namine wrapped up in her mother's long coat before leaving the house, we still got a few sideways glance as we headed to the bus station. There were a few times when I thought I might need to grab her and run to avoid harassment. We got on the bus and I pushed her into the seat right behind the bus driver so we could get on and off as soon as possible. She laughed as I looked around nervously.

"Nothing's going to happen, Roxas," she laughed. I nodded, hardly listening. I would feel bad if anything happened before we even got there. "It's only one stop away." As soon as she was finished telling me not to worry, a man who appeared to be in his thirties with a long black and grey ponytail walked over to us. He leaned over toward Namine and I noticed he was wearing an eye patch and had a large scar on his face. It was almost on cue.

"Hey there, cutie. Looking for a good time?" He winked, grinning mischievously. I got ready to stand up, clenching my fist, but she beat me to the punch…literally.

"Uh, no! Get away, you creep!" She practically shrieked as she hit him. The bus driver yelled at the man for causing a fuss and told him to get off. After he left, I sighed with relief. The rest of the bus ride was uneventful, and we got off at the next stop. After wandering around aimlessly for a few minutes, we eventually found Axel and Marluxia waiting for us.

We walked over to them and I wondered how they were planning to get us into a club like that. I pulled my hood over my head hoping now one would say anything. Especially standing next to the…different looking Namine, I looked my actual, illegal, age.

"Hey," Marly wrapped an arm around Namine, who giggled quietly. I rolled my eyes and stood behind Axel, shoving my hands in my pockets. He pulled off my hood and smiled.

"Hey Rox," he smiled cheekily, looking me over. "You look hot," he winked playfully, blushing.

"Thanks, you do too," I mumbled dejectedly.

"See, I told you he'd like it!" She laughed, looking at me with an 'I told you so' look. I shot her a dark look that told her whether she was right or not, I still wasn't happy about it. The second I got away from them I was getting rid of the makeup…again. Luckily, it was dark and you couldn't see much of it.

Axel did look really good though. He was wearing dark jeans and a band t-shirt. His hair was spiked even more than usual, and he was wearing a bit less makeup than I was. He really did go all out with the eyeliner though…Damn her for calling that. He had a few chains clipped to his pants, some spiked bracelets on his arms, and fingerless gloves on his hands.

I glanced over to see that Namine, who had successfully ditched the trench coat, was allowing to Marluxia to obviously fawn over her. I shook my head and turned my head up to Axel, who was looking over at the door.

"Okay, ready to go in?" He said, and Marluxia managed to break his gaze from Namine. He nodded deviously and grabbed her hand, and waving over for me to follow. I looked over to Axel, confused, but he just wrapped an arm around me and followed them.

"Where are we going?" I asked, stumbling a bit as we turned a corner to the back of the club.

"We can't just walk through the front doors with you two," Axel laughed in reply. "You know how bad that'd look?"

"Makes sense," Namine said with a shrug, happy just at the fact that she was here. "But still."

"Trust me," Marluxia purred, more to Namine than anyone else. He brushed a few strands of his pink hair away from his eyes and smiled, making her blush. I rolled my eyes at their little exchange as we reached a door on the side of the building. Axel laughed a bit and wrapped his arms around my waist.

"Calm down…okay?" He purred. I pushed him away, trying not to blush the same way I'd just seen Namine do. Marluxia pounded on the door for a second, before turning back to his date, leaning on the door. He probably got two or three words in before the door swung open causing him to stumble a bit. Axel and I laughed, and Namine bit her lip in an attempt not to. He shook it off and turned to the man that had just opened the door. I jumped a bit as music blared into the alley, but the man shut the door behind him, taking Marluxia's place of leaning on it, folding his arms around his chest.

"Marly," he sneered, looking him over as Marluxia brushed himself off. "Graceful as always."

"Just let us in, Luxord," he shot in reply. There was a small, tense silence between the two of them, which Axel promptly broke.

"Stop trying to be tough, Luxord," he teased, and the other two laughed. The blond man moved out of the way, Marluxia led Namine through the door, Axel and I following. I looked at Axel for some form of explanation. "We're all kind of family friends…I guess." He offered, and I shrugged, happy to get out of the cold alley.

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The club was packed and extremely loud. The heavy music and flashing lights were overwhelming, since I'd never been to a rave, or an underground party, or a club, or whatever this was, before. The air was thick with smoke and it was rather difficult to breathe. This certainly wasn't a normal concert. People were packed together in clusters on the dance floor, seemingly flailing recklessly to the beats. I was feeling a bit nervous, until Axel tugged me aside, wrapping his arms around my hips.

"Wanna dance, Roxy?" He grinned mischievously. Could that even be considered dancing?

"Uh…I guess so?" I couldn't dance if my life depended on it. And as packed as it was in here, I'd probably set off some sort of human domino effect. Before Axel could unknowingly drag me off to certain death, Marluxia and Namine walked over to us.

"Hey, wanna get some drinks with us?" Marluxia asked; Namine still clinging to his side.

"Sure, c'mon Rox." Axel smiled, quickly maneuvering us through the sea of people to the bar. We all sat down at the oddly less crowded bar and Marluxia ordered drinks for he and Nami. Axel scooted his stool closer to me, so I could hear him over the music that was still blaring. He ordered a few drinks for us, although I had no idea what we were getting. The bartender handed us a few normal looking beers, to which Axel quickly took a swig of one and handed the other to me.

"Cheers, babe," he winked, taking another gulp. Not wanting to look like a pansy in front of him, I begrudgingly took a sip of my own, trying not to cringe at the taste. Marulixa was already through his first bottle, but Namine sat there with an anxious smile on her mouth. I shrugged and lifted my drink and she did the same.

"Bottoms up, I guess," She mumbled. No one could hear her over the music, and I only saw her mouth it. We both drank.

**Axel POV**

About an hour and a few mixed drinks later, I had a very drunk Roxas sitting on my lap and watching a drinking game between people on a first date. It was pretty interesting. Not that I minded the Roxas part. I looked over to catch Marluxia and Namine continuing to throwing back shots like they were water, each practically screeching at the bartender for more. Roxas laughed as he watched the two, and I grabbed his arm to keep him from falling off my lap.

"Uhg…I -_hic-_ don't feel so -_hic_ - good." He slurred.

"Uh oh…I think you've had enough…" I frowned.

"I had had -_hic_- enough after the third -_hic- _one…" he slurred again, looking incredibly nauseous. He quickly turned his head away from me and threw up onto the floor.

"You okay?" I asked.

"I guess…" he mumbled, before promptly puking again. He sat up looking a bit steadier, and got up, making sure to step off the stool on the other side. He wobbled as he got up but still managed to stand pretty well.

"Shit, Roxas! You're such a lightweight!" Namine yelled, getting rather…crude in her drunken stupor. She and Marluxia were still trying to out drink each other. I bit my lip, trying not to say anything in agreement.

"Hey, back to the game!" Marly yelled in response to Namine's distraction. I watched as she grabbed her next shot and swallowed it, and laughed a bit as his eyes got bigger in surprise. He probably wasn't too happy by being shown up by a girl so easily.

"Hey Mar, I'm gonna go take Roxas home." I called, standing up. Marluxia nodded in response, before yelling at the bartender again. I grabbed Roxas' waist in an attempt to keep him standing up straight, which was proving to be useless. I picked him up, and carried him out of the club. I hailed a cab and stepped in, setting Roxas down on the seat next to me, swaying in the back seat. I sighed and sat back too, rubbing my eyes. The cab driver gave me a nervous look, glancing from me to Roxas and back, probably wondering what terrible things could possibly be going on. I rolled my eyes, expecting as much, and told to man the directions. He gave one last look and turned to face forward, starting to drive. Roxas leaned on my shoulder and I ran my fingers through his hair, hoping I had enough cash to pay for the ride.

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The cab ride was longer then I thought it would be, and Roxas was out within the first five minutes. When we pulled up to the apartment building, I shoved some cash towards the driver, knowing I was either short or over. I opened the door, using my foot to keep it open as I shook Roxas awake. He grumbled and sat up, swaying a bit. At least he was starting to sober up a little.

"You're more trouble then you're worth," I teased, helping him out of the cab.

"Shut up," he growled, slurring slightly. I wrapped my arms around him, dragging him inside the building.

"Didn't like your first drink?" I continued; glad to have Roxas somewhat back to himself.

"I just want to shower and chug a bottle of mouth wash," he shot in reply, but he still smiled a bit.

"You can come up to my place, and get cleaned up before you get back to Riku and Sora" I offered. He considered it for a second, but eventually shrugged in agreement. We walked inside and got on the elevator, heading upstairs.

When we got into my apartment I went straight for the kitchen, opening the refrigerator, and pulling out two water bottles. Without really thinking about it, I tossed one to Roxas who fumbled to catch it, but ended up dropping it. He stood silently for a moment, staring at the water bottle, before kicking it lightly. I laughed a bit, trying to cover it up by turning away. I opened mine and took a drink before looking back at Roxas. He looked at me, frowning slightly. He pointed towards the bathroom door, wincing slightly as he turned.

"I'm going to go shower," He said, now sounding more exhausted than drunk. He rubbed his eyes and walked into the bathroom, almost hitting the door frame as he did.

"Mouth wash is on the counter. Feel free to chug away," I called after him, almost positive I'd heard him curse at me before he did.

I headed back in to my room, changing into some shorts and a t-shirt, feeling much more comfortable. I grabbed something for Roxas to put on, and headed down the hall towards the bathroom, hearing the water from the shower. I knocked on the door.

"You alive in there, Roxas?" I called, leaning my back against the door. I heard a few things drop and the door propped open slightly. I turned and took a step back.

"Yeah," he mumbled, poking his head out from behind the door. "What do you need?"

"I brought you some clothes to put on after your shower." I held out the clothes and he looked at them and let the door open the rest of the way. He hadn't gotten into the shower yet, apparently. He stood in the door way, his shirt crooked like he had just pulled it back on, and some last bits of eyeliner streaked around the corner of his eyes. He smelled like toothpaste.

"I think I'm just going to go home and lay down or something." He yawned, walking out. "And don't get mad but I stole one of the new tooth brushes you had in the drawer, there were like five in there. But yeah, turns out I don't like drinking or its consequences."

"That's a good thing, Rox," I chuckled, ruffling his hair. He pulled away quickly.

"Please…Don't do that," he winced, sounding like someone who had just spun in circles. He leaned against the wall, sliding down to sit on the floor. "Okay…I'm good." He looked up and smiled. I sat beside him, and he leaned against me, letting his eyes slid shut.

"Still wanna go home?" I asked, teasing him. He swatted me away, but eventually gave up and curled up next to me.

"I'm going to go in a minute," he muttered, "I spend too much time here anyway, this is like the third night I'd be staying."

"Three isn't that big of a deal," I mumbled, resting my chin on his head. I waited a few more seconds before tilting my head to see if he was still awake. He wasn't. I looked around the apartment, knowing I should probably call and tell his brother he was staying. Or call to see if Marly had survived the night without getting his stomach pumped, or the little blond girl for that matter. But every time I moved to get up, Roxas would squirm uncomfortably in his sleep. I sighed, and tried to get more comfortable sitting on the floor, where it looked like both of us would be sleeping tonight.

_A/N: As always, we absolutely love reviews! 0u0_


	14. Conflict

_A/N: Yikes, I can't believe it's been almost two months since we last updated! We're really, really sorry, guys. ;o; Hopefully we'll be able to update at least somewhat regularly now. Anyway, we hope you like this extra-long chapter. :'D _

**Axel POV**

The next morning, I woke up feeling pretty good. I yawned, stretching slightly, when I remembered that Roxas was still curled up on my lap, and that we were still on the bathroom floor. He winced at my slight movement; clutching his head and groaning. I sat up as gently as I could, leaning against the side of the counter.

"Good morning Starshine, the earth says hello." I grinned, ruffling his hair lightly.

"Please don't talk so loud…oh god, my head." He groaned, obviously hungover. "Wait, why are we on your bathroom floor?"

"You kinda passed out. It's okay though." I explained, carefully trying to stand up. Roxas winced a bit, but we eventually made it to the living room. After I left Roxas on the couch, I went to the kitchen to make some coffee. Hopefully that'll help his headache.

We ended up just lounging around for a while, drinking coffee and snacking on whatever was nearby. I was pretty content to just chill and cuddle for a while. I absentmindedly played with his hair as he halfheartedly flipped through various channels on TV. After an hour or so, he dozed off on my lap once again. I rolled my eyes lightly, attempting to get comfortable. He'd probably be out for a while.

-x-

A few hours later, Roxas began to stir. He whimpered softly, clutching my shirt in his sleep. I murmured sweet nothings to him, which seemed to help. I stroked his hair gently; smiling. After a few minutes, his eyes eventually fluttered open.

"Okay, I'm never drinking ever again." He yawned, sitting up slightly.

"I figured as much." I responded blandly.

"Oh shit, Sora's gonna kill me." His eyes widened, bolting up.

"It's fine," I laughed, "I told him last night that you were here and okay."

"Thank god." He sighed in relief. "So, uhh, what do you wanna do?"

I paused for a moment, before smirking deviously. I leaned over him and purred, "_Well_, we could-"

"No." He pouted, pushing me away half-heartedly.

"Aww, you're no fun." I mock-whined, sticking my tongue out slightly.

"I'm kinda hungry anyway."

"Yeah, me too. Why don't we go to that café down the street?" I suggested, standing up.

"Sounds good to me." He rubbed his eyes and looked towards the window. It had started to rain almost an hour ago but it seemed like now he was just starting to notice. He looked back over, and pointed towards the window. "Sure you want to go?"

"Yes," I insisted, wrapping my arm around his shoulder. "Not afraid of a little water, are we?" Roxas pushed me away playfully and rolled his eyes.

"No, but I'd rather not freeze to death," he said. "I am quite interested to see how you handle the rain, though."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing, nothing." He insisted, looking around for a jacket. I headed towards the bedroom so I could dig out an old sweatshirt for him. After a few minutes of searching, I eventually found an oversized black hoodie. It was pretty big; even on me, so I chuckled a bit to myself at how comically large it would be on Roxas. I walked back into the living room and tossed the hoodie to him. He stared at it for a moment, before pulling it on. As I predicted, it was far too large for his small frame. He struggled around for a while, unable to get his arms or head through. In his flailing panic, he tripped over the edge of the couch and started to fall. I quickly caught him and pulled the hoodie over his head.

"Air! Sweet air!" He gasped sarcastically, waving his arms around. I snickered and rolled my eyes at his shenanigans.

"At least you won't get cold now," I laughed.

"True. Let's go." And so we started walking to the café. It only took a few minutes to get there. Unfortunately, they were closed for renovations. What a rip-off.

"Aw man, they're closed." Roxas frowned.

"We could go to the park?" I asked, stifling a yawn.

"It's raining." He stated flatly, pointing up at the sky. He was right; the rain was beginning to pour down now, but still. Anything would be better than sitting around.

"So?" I grinned and grabbed his hand and started running toward the park. And so we ran around four blocks to the park, purposely stomping in as many puddles as we could along the way. Soaking wet and out of breath, we sat down on our favorite bench. Oddly enough, we were pretty much the only people at the park. I glanced back at Roxas, only to see him cracking up.

"What's funny?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Dude…!" He laughed, practically gasping for air. I briefly wondered if he had a temporary lapse of sanity, until he managed to gasp "Your hair! You look like a wet lion!"

"...Roar?" I chuckled, shaking my head swiftly, sending little droplets of water everywhere. In his attempt to not get anymore soaked than he already was, he fell off the bench into a rather large puddle. Seizing the opportunity, I leapt on top of him playfully, still doing my fantastic lion impression. He rolled around on the ground, laughing uncontrollably.

"Get off, you dork!" he laughed loudly, half-heartedly pushing me away.

"Psh, you know you love it." I purred, kissing his cheek lightly. He merely raised an eyebrow in response, before quickly pulling me into a kiss. A few moments later, when I least expected it, he flipped us over and I landed flat in the aforementioned giant puddle.

"You did _not_ just do that." I laughed, ruffling his wet hair.

"Why yes, yes I did," he smirked, "Whatcha gonna do about it?"

"This." I mumbled, sitting us up. I pressed my lips to his lightly as I wrapped my arms around his waist. He wrapped his arms around my neck pulling me closer into the embrace. We kissed for a few minutes longer before a loud, blaring ring filled the air. Roxas pushed away and yanked his phone out of his pocket, struggling out and back on the bench. With a sigh I stood up too, folding my arms across my chest.

"It's Sora," he said blandly, glancing at the caller ID. "Of course. He always needs something." He dropped the phone casually onto the bench. He looked back over at me with a devious smile. As much as I didn't want to, I reached over and picked up the still ringing phone and handed back to Roxas. He glowered at it, but opened it anyway.

"Roxas!" Roxas flinched a bit as he answered the phone. Even a few steps away, I could hear Sora yelling over the other line. He got up and walked off a bit, rolling his eyes slightly, he held up a hand signaling for me to stay here as he did. Biting my lip I let him get a few yards away before getting up and following.

"Like right now, he's here?" I heard Roxas ask nervously. There was a bit of silence, when I assumed Sora was ranting on the other end of the phone. "What time did he say he was coming back? ...So that gives me some time? …Yeah, I'm on my way now." Normally, it was a bit weird to hear only one end of a conversation, but in this case Roxas seemed nervous and apparently his brother was too. He closed the phone and gripped it tightly in his hand; looking down at the ground, as if he was calculating his options.

"You okay?" I asked curiously. He didn't answer at first, just tapped the front of his phone for a bit, before putting it back in his pocket.

"Yeah, I'm good." He said with a false smile. I raised an eyebrow, but he walked right past me. "I gotta head back though."

"And this can't wait, why?" I teased, trying to pull him back and lighten the mood. He ducked my grasp and kept walking, almost jogging.

"It can't wait because it's important." He snapped, before slowing down. His head dropped slightly and he sighed. "Sorry, but I just need to get back like…now," he mumbled. Nodding, I followed and the two of us walked in silence towards the apartment building.

**Roxas POV**

The last thing Sora had said before we had hung up after he called was "Stay calm," but his advice was the farthest thing from my mind. My shoes felt heavy as I stomped down the street, and I felt bad a bit about leaving Axel behind as I walked. But he had longer legs, and could catch up easily, and the sooner I got back the better. The last time our uncle had graced us with his godly presence was not too long ago, and Sora looked like he was ready to murder someone. And now he was back? This couldn't be anything good. I could hear Riku in the background arguing with someone, when I was on the phone with Sora.

When the building came into sight, I looked over my shoulder to make sure I could still see Axel following in the rain before speeding up. Entering the building, there we a few silent glares and I was pretty sure I could tell why. The two steps I had taken into the front were now muddy foot prints, and my hair was still dripping with water. I stood quietly for a minute, suddenly feeling very awkward. The door flew up again and Axel pushed me a step forward.

"You can't just stand in the middle of a doorway," he muttered into my ear and I nodded.

"Right," I still didn't move. With a sigh, Axel put his hands on my shoulders and attempted to push me towards the elevator. "Okay okay, I'm going." I laughed weakly.

When we reached Riku's door, I looked over at Axel, who seemed just as surprised as I was. We could hear a woman, probably Yuffie, yelling on the other side of the door which was something I'd personally never heard. I knocked lightly on the door as Axel stood awkwardly behind me. If I knew she was here sooner I probably would have attempted to look a bit more…presentable. The door flew open, and Yuffie yanked me inside, almost slamming the door on Axel, who just barely managed to slip in.

"Where the hell have you been?" She almost screamed. I stumbled for an answer but she quickly released her grip on me, looking at her hands. "Why are you covered in mud?" She asked in an eerily calm tone that was a bit frightening. I grabbed a few strands of hair that hung in my face and tried to wipe some of it out.

"Ummm….Well, actually."

"And what are you doing here?" She snapped, turning to face Axel, whom I'd hoped would have run by now. He stood perfectly still, looking slightly intimidated by the small woman standing in front of him. He seemed to have the same response I had. None.

"Mom!" Riku snapped, and she whipped around quickly. "Will you just sit down for a second?" She glared viciously at her son before looking back at Axel, who was still rather petrified. Normally it'd be pretty funny to see him scared like that, but it seemed a little too tense in the apartment for me to laugh. And I was in as much, if not more, trouble than he was in her eyes. "Okay, Roxas. Go shower and change. You look like you're hung over and decided to roll in a mud puddle." Riku's power of perception never ceased to amaze me. "And Axel," he started turning towards him. "You might want to get out before Sephiroth comes back. This is one explanation I don't think any of us can smooth over easily." Yuffie's eyes widened as she looked from Axel to me and back.

"What kind of explanation is-" Riku cut her off calmly.

"Sora, will you please help me with this?" He snapped. I looked around the two, not even noticing that he was in the room. Sora looked like he hadn't slept, and was just sitting in the kitchen clutching a cup of coffee. He looked up and rolled his eyes, before getting up.

"Yuffie meet Axel. Axel meet Riku's mom, Yuffie." He said dryly, introducing the two. Riku shot him a look that screamed "not helping" and I joined. "Not what you pictured our little blonde's first relationship to be, but hey it's only a few years age difference." He sat down, staring back into his cup.

"Yuffie, I can explain." I started quietly, trying to keep my voice steady despite the fact I wanted to murder Sora. The other two had the same expression, Riku's only slightly softer. Yuffie was at a loss for words.

"There's really no time, we kind of need to get to the point here," Sora called from his corner. "Sephiroth is going to be here soon." I sighed and began to walk towards the bathroom.

"I guess I'll see you later?" Axel called from the front of the room. I nodded and gave a small wave. He turned around to open the door, when it flew open by itself.

"Roxas!" I almost jumped through the roof. Having my name yelled in anger once by Sora was enough, but all of us seemed to freeze. "You look awful." I nearly had a heart attack at the sound of his grave voice. He had a tone that made people -maybe just me- that made me feel guilty for breathing. And now it had shifted to Sora.

"Sora, have you told him yet? Or are you still incompetent?" Sora flinched, shrinking back into his chair. Riku clenched his fists and took a defensive step towards him, glaring at the older man. Before Sora could respond, I chimed in. "Tell me what?" I asked, immediately regretting my decision.

"Tsk, tsk." He walked over to me and wiped some of the mud off my face, flicking it away. "Since you obviously aren't being properly taken care of here, you'll be coming to live with me." My eyes widened; I didn't even know how to respond to that. The situation went from bad to worse when Sephiroth noticed Axel standing by the couch awkwardly.

"And you. Who are you?" He snarled, standing a bit too close for comfort. Axel raised his eyebrow, as if to say "Is this guy for real?"

"Oh, that's Axel; Roxas's almost-20-year-old boyfriend." Sora interjected bitterly, trying to force the anger off him. Sephiroth glanced between Axel and Roxas with an incredulous look.

"Thank you, **once again**, Sora for your amazing introductions," I growl loudly at him. Riku glared at the brunette, mentally begging him to just shut up. I could tell our uncle was getting really pissed, considering his face was turning red. This isn't going to end well, I just know it.

"You do realize that Roxas is _fifteen_ years old, correct?" He muttered darkly.

"Sixteen in a few weeks," I mumbled.

"And you are nearly _twenty_ years old?"

"Actually, he's only nineteen," I interjected again.

"Uhh, yeah." Axel said bluntly. It seemed to be the only response he could think of.

"And you know that such a relationship is completely _illegal_?"

"Really? I thought it was just a little bit illegal. Oh well." He sneered, clicking his tongue at the uptight older man.

"You're a disgusting pedophile! And you will stay away from my nephew!" He yelled, the veins in his forehead bulging. Axel was trying his hardest not to look offended and stay calm. Still, he looked like he was ready to kill someone. That comment was the last straw for me. I stomped over and slid between them, shoving Sephiroth away.

"Shut the fuck up! Don't you _ever_ talk to _my_ boyfriend that way again!" I screamed in his face, having to stand on my tiptoes to reach eye level with his chin. After that, the entire apartment erupted into fits of screaming and yelling; insults being thrown abundantly. I was pretty sure I heard Yuffie crying, and Axel growling, "I'm not a pedophile!" I briefly wondered if it could get much worse.

"Will everyone calm down?" Riku yelled over the chaos, only to be completely ignored. The yelling continued to escalate, and I looked around to see that Sora was trying to comfort Yuffie, who was indeed crying on the sofa. And then there were Riku and Axel, who were busy screaming at Sephiroth. It was mostly Riku trying to calm Axel down, but that old bastard sure knew how to piss everyone off.

"You won't take Roxas away!" They both snarled aggressively.

"I'll do whatever I please!" He spat, turning to face me, "Pack your bags, Roxas, I'll be here to get you tomorrow at noon!" And with that, he stormed out of the apartment, slamming the door. "Like hell you will!" I yelled; I couldn't remember the last time I was this angry. I stomped out of the apartment, unsure if I wanted to scream or cry or both.

**Riku POV**

"Roxas, wait!" Axel called out, starting to follow him. I grabbed his arm and frowned.

"Give him some time. He needs to think this through." I stated, still the only calm one. Axel glared and ripped his arm away, still angry. I raised an eyebrow, daring him to yell but he didn't. His shoulders dropped and he looked at the ground.

"I guess you're right…" He mumbled dejectedly. "I'm just gonna… head home and shower." He pointed to the door. I nodded, "Let me know when Roxas comes back, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'll keep you updated." I smiled sadly; I was worried about Roxas too.

"Thanks, bro." Axel smiled halfheartedly and left. I stared at the door for a bit, exhausted.

I walked over to where Sora and Yuffie were sitting; they were clearly still upset. I sat down beside them and attempted to comfort them. "Don't worry; Roxas is going to be fine. Sephiroth isn't going to be able to take him. Besides, I'm his legal guardian now, aren't I? You did fill out that paperwork the social worker gave you at the hospital, didn't you?" Yuffie was silent. "…It's uh, okay still. He still won't take Roxas." I wasn't sure if what I was saying was true anymore.

"He can't take him away from us!" Sora croaked, starting to tear up at the thought of losing his brother. I wrapped my arms around him, holding him close. "Hey, don't worry, okay? Everything's gonna be fine." I felt him shaking slightly, and ran my fingers through his hair in an attempt to comfort him_. "Not that you helped the situation much…"_ I thought, feeling slightly guilty.

"This is all my fault." Yuffie sobbed softly, "I should have made sure this couldn't happen."

"Can we all just calm down now?" I insisted. "There's nothing we can do about that now. He won't take Roxas."

"How can you know that for sure?" Sora asked, starting to get angry.

"Because we won't let him."

-x-

A few hours later, Yuffie had gone back to the hotel and Sora retreated to his bedroom. Still, everyone had quieted down for the most part…except for Axel, who texted me approximately every 8 minutes to ask if Roxas was home yet. I swear; he worries too much. Right when I was ready to just turn my phone off, Roxas walked into the apartment. He looked even worse than he had when he left, his hair sticking to his face with rain and his shoes squishing, leaving watery foot-prints on the floor. He looked around the room hardly, noticing me looking over from the couch, a cigarette between his lips. He raised his hand as a hello, and headed into the kitchen, filling a glass with water and dropping it in. It fizzled out and I shook my head.

"Didn't know you smoked," I sighed, rubbing my eyes and looking at him.

"I didn't know either until about half way through the pack." He joked, but it was in a flat tone. He reached into the sweatshirt pocket and pulled out the empty box, now deformed by the rain and a lighter. "There weren't many in there anyway. Axel should clean out his pockets more often." He shrugged. "Where's Sora and Yuffie?"

"Yuffie left and Sora's napping. You've been gone for almost two hours, what do you expect?" I replied. As much as I wanted to be sympathetic, it was hard with his attitude.

"Cool," he mumbled before walking over and sitting on the couch. "I didn't really want to talk to either of them anyway."

"Well, at least take off your sweatshirt," I sighed. "You're practically flooding the couch." He nodded and pulled it over his head, and dropping it on the ground. It made an almost inaudible splash. I rolled my eyes.

"I'll get you a towel." I sighed again, looking over at him. His gaze didn't break from the wall in front of him, and he just nodded weakly. "Right, wait here." I got up and headed towards the bathroom, glancing at him over my shoulder. I turned and grabbed a few towels from the small closet and headed back. "You don't have to worry." I said, handing the towels to him. This seemed to finally prompt a small reaction.

"I'm not Sora, or your mom," he snorted. "You don't need to sugar coat it. Just tell me the truth." I bit my lip.

"Well, realistically?" I started; sitting beside him. He grabbed one of the towels and attempted to dry his hair. "This probably isn't going to work. There's really not much we can do. If your uncle wants to take you, he can." I tried to sound comforting at the same time, but it didn't seem possible. Roxas looked over and gave a weak smile.

"It's understandable." He muttered calmly. "We tried though," his voice was starting to waver. "That's all that matters, I guess." I nodded in response.

"Axel has been trying to get a hold of you." I offered, hoping it may cheer him up.

"I know…" He mumbled guiltily, "I turned off my phone a while ago."

"Do you want to call him?" I asked.

"No…I'll do it later…"

"Want me to tell him you're-" He cut me off, quickly.

"No. Like I said, I'll do it later." He snapped, almost angrily. I was a bit surprised, but I didn't push it any further. "I think I'll just shower and go to sleep." He got to his feet and started walking toward the room he shared with Sora.

"Right, well, when you go by the room just let Sora know you're back." He froze in his tracks as I said this. "Is that a problem?"

"I don't really want to talk to him right now. I'd feel bad," he sighed. I thought about this for a moment and nodded.

"Just get in the shower; I'll get him to leave you alone." I sighed. He gave another weak smile, and headed off into the bathroom. A few minutes later the water started, and I got up to get Sora up.

"Hey…" I called, knocking on the door. There was no response. "Sora…wake up," I opened the door, and looked over to see his brown hair peeking out from under the blankets.

"Go away, Riku," his voice was muffled, and I assumed his was talking into his pillow. "I don't wanna talk." I rolled my eyes and grabbed his shoulders.

"No, you're getting up."

"Why?" He pleaded, trying to squirm away. I couldn't help but laugh a little at his resistance. He sat up. "It's not funny," he snapped.

"Really?" I teased, "Your reaction seemed pretty funny to me; like trying to get a kid out of bed for school." He grabbed the pillow and threw it at my face. I didn't move, letting him have the satisfaction of landing the hit. "Very mature."

"Shut up, Riku," he snarled, but his anger was weakening. "I'm not in the mood."

"Whatever you say," I laughed, "I'm not going to let you sit here and stew in pity."

"One:" he said officially, "It's not your choice what I do. And two: What are you going to do about it?" He tested.

"It isn't, but you know you want my company." He swung his legs over the edge of the bed, but didn't get up. Just folded his arms across his chest and glared up at me. I mimicked him, and smiled deviously. "Come on, you know you love me."

"Whatever," he mumbled, finally standing up and glaring up at me. Even standing up straight he was still several inches shorter. "What do you want, then?"

"Just to be with you," I purred, kissing him lightly. He blushed and followed me out of the room. I glanced at the bathroom door as we passed, hoping Sora wouldn't notice. As much as I loved spending time with him, I still shouldn't be lying to cover for Roxas; especially with Sora being as worried as he is. Even though I finally got the alone time with Sora that I'd been wanting, the kid owed me. And hopefully he wouldn't screw up more.

Sora and I had spent most of the night watching movies on the small, old TV I had in my room until he fell asleep. When he did, I slid off the bed to go check on Roxas. He was curled up in his own bed just like his brother had been, his phone still blinking on his small dresser. I walked over quietly, almost tripping over an overstuffed backpack on the floor. I cursed, wondering why the hell he needed this much stuff for school, and Roxas shifted slightly in his sleep. I stood still for a second, hoping he wouldn't wake up, before grabbing the phone. The screen read four missed calls, and when I opened it, there were even more text messages; mostly from Axel. I shook my head, wondering why he was making such an effort to ignore him. I put the phone back down and headed back to bed, to try and get some sleep too. I hoped the situation might be better in the morning. I knew it wouldn't be much, if any, but still…

-x-

"RIKU GET UP, RIGHT FUCKING NOW!" Sora screamed, by my ear. I jolted awake, flinching away from him. I forgot how loud he could be.

"What?" I groaned tiredly, waving him off. He grabbed my shirt and turned me over to face him. I opened my eyes to see him looking panicked. "Wait, what's wrong?" I asked, nervously.

"Where the hell is Roxas?" He almost screamed. I was really awake now.

"In his room?" I offered, somehow knowing I was wrong.

"NO! HE'S FUCKING GONE!"

…shit.

_A/N: We hope you liked the chapter! As always, we absolutely love reviews. ^u^_


	15. Runaway

_A/N: For now, new chapters might be kinda slow getting posted. But we're trying to get back on track. :D_

**Roxas POV**

I felt a bit bad for leaving everyone like that, but there was no way in hell I was going to live with Sephiroth. It was around 7 in the morning when I checked the time; I'd been walking for a few hours now. Sora would probably be up soon and notice I'm gone, if he hasn't already. He's always been an early bird; which means I need to find a faster method of transportation, and soon, if I want to keep going. I walked about three more blocks before I got a rather ingenious idea. I hurriedly caught the bus that went through Namine's neighborhood and waited until it got to its stop. After a relatively short bus ride, I jogged to Namine's house and knocked on the door.

"Roxas?" She answered the door tiredly, rubbing her eyes, looking pretty surprised. I looked at the small pair of shorts and the tiny tee she was wearing and wished she'd put on more clothing. "You have good timing. My mom left like not even ten minutes ago for work." She yawned, gesturing for me to come in. I followed her through the large door, into the house. "What're you doing here so early?" She asked as she headed for the stairs. I waited at the bottom, not moving. I looked around nervously.

"Um…well…I need a favor. I don't have a lot of time to explain," I started, trying not to sound suspicious. The whole thing was a bit suspicious, but if I could stay calm, maybe she'd be more willing. "But…can I borrow your car for a while?"

She spun around slowly "Uhh…why?" She raised an eyebrow. Plan failed.

"I need to get out of here for a while." I mumbled, not really wanting to explain the entire story, especially since I'd been gone awhile.

"Is someone threatening you?" Namine started. Her tone reminded me of my mother, calm but ready to jump on anything that may be causing trouble. I didn't answer her at first, trying to think of how to put it without saying everything. She took my silence as a yes. "IS IT SEIFER AGAIN? I swear if he-" She asked, her voice getting increasingly louder.

"No, no, it's nothing like that," I interrupted waving my arms for her to calm down. "I just really need to go soon and I'll explain later, I promise." I pleaded, giving her my best puppy face. She squinted at me, as if trying to make sure I wasn't lying. After folding her arms across her chest, she followed me down the stairs and walked closer, still examining me.

"Fine," she sighed, "You can use my dad's car. He's on a business trip for the rest of the week. Let me get the keys." She left the hallway for a second and I debated if I should follow, but before I could try, she was back; keys jingling. She handed them to me and shook her head. "But don't be too reckless, okay? It's not my car, remember that." I grinned and gave her a quick hug.

"Thanks Nami, you're the best." She smiled back, and waved her hand as to say 'I know'.

"You better come back soon," she teased. And with that, I practically ran out of her house and got in the car. I sat in the front seat hoping there was something to get me far, and thanked my lucky stars when I turned the keys in and saw the full tank of gas. At least I could get a few hours away from here without having to stop. That would definitely help.

**Axel POV**

I had spent most of the night hovering over my phone. Pacing the apartment and checking it periodically. It wasn't until late-or early morning- when I finally shut my eyes. Not even after like ten minutes had passed, my phone buzzed. I jumped up, practically tripping over myself trying to get to it, but I just ended up getting tangled in my blankets and tumbling off my bed. I grabbed the phone, and pushed my hair out of my face quickly, flipping it open. Unfortunately, the text wasn't from Roxas like I hoped it'd be. And as I flipped through the inbox, I saw there weren't any from him for that matter. I almost didn't bother reading the new text. I was tempted to just close my phone, and crawl back in bed to try and sleep a bit more, maybe head over to see him again, before he was shipped off. Still, I had a sinking feeling it wasn't going to be good news. I begrudgingly opened the text to see:

"From: Riku  
Uhh…hey? We need to talk. It's about Roxas. Can you come back here for a bit? And if he's there, tell him to come home, now."

I read the text a few more times, trying not to think the worst. '_If he's here?' _that part worried me the most. I threw the phone to the side-in the back of my mind, hoping it didn't break- and scrambled around to put on some new clothes. After rushing through the morning basics, I almost bolted out of the apartment, still holding my toothbrush. After putting it back, I headed out.

Before knocking on the door, I stood there quietly, trying to calm down. I didn't want to go in looking like I was about to have a heart attack. It probably wouldn't help the situation anyway. After a few deep breaths I knocked on the door. It sounded like a chair almost fell from the other side of the door, and I froze a bit.

"SORA, SIT DOWN!" I heard Riku yell, sounding more stressed then yesterday. The door creaked open, and Riku was on the other side. "Oh, you're here," he said in a flat tone. I must have been staring because Riku continued. "Sora's a bit on edge and it's making things more difficult. Come in." He stepped to the side, and headed back towards the kitchen. I followed and looked to see Sora, sitting with his arms folded. He looked like a child that just got scolded and was not happy about it. I tried not to laugh; now wasn't the time. He looked up and glared, ready to yell at me for some unknown reason. Riku seemed to sense this and stepped between us, and shot Sora a look. He looked back down at the floor, still annoyed.

"What's going on?" I finally asked.

"Well, my brother decided it'd be a good idea to just pack up and leave." Sora snapped, his voice shaking. I couldn't tell if it was anger or worry, but he seemed to be more than _a bit_ on edge.

"Don't snap, Sora." Riku reprimanded. "Axel doesn't know where he is either." We both looked at Riku. I hadn't even said anything, but he still could tell. Sora seemed ready to challenge this however. "He looks just as worried as you do, just a lot more…stable." Sora glared at this comment, but he ignored it. "Anyway, I doubt Axel's that good of an actor."

"Well, he's right. I don't know where he is," I agreed. "He's been ignoring my text and calls since yesterday."

"We know," Sora sighed. "He left his phone." I cursed under my breath.

"Do we have ANY idea where he might be?" I insisted. Both shook their heads. "Do we know where he might go?"

"Roxas doesn't really know a lot of people around here. Just you, Demyx, Zexion, and Namine." Sora explained. "The rest were his friends from before the move."

"So let's start with Namine," Riku offered. "Since I doubt the other two have heard from him." Sora and I both nodded anxiously.

"Let's go then," we said at the same time. Riku just rolled his eyes.

"Okay, let's go."

-x-

Sora was out of the car first, but I was right behind him. He ran up the front the front steps and began pounding on the door. By the time Riku and I were there, Namine had already ripped opened the door.

"What's with the early visits?" She demanded. "Do people forget some of us like to sleep? As insane as it sounds, it does happen." Sora didn't seem amused.

"Have you seen Roxas?" he demanded. Namine's eyes widened for a second, flinching a bit.

"No, I haven't…Why? Did something happen?" she pulled at the tips of her hair nervously. I raised an eyebrow; she was acting pretty guilty.

"No, Namine, we just thought we'd stop by for an early morning tea party-OF COURSE SOMETHING HAPPENED." Sora bellowed, looking about ready to rip his hair out.

"Calm down, Sora. Freaking out isn't helping anything." Riku sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"How can I possibly calm down at a time like this!" Sora demanded, obviously getting tired of being told to calm down.

"Can _someone_ tell me what the hell's going on?" A frustrated and sleep-deprived Namine shouted. An awkward silence fell over the room.

After a few moments, I spoke up. "You might as well tell her, Riku." He nodded and walked over to Namine.

"In short, the paperwork that would've made me Roxas's legal guardian got messed up somehow and now his uncle wants to take him away because he thinks I'm not capable of taking care of him. He didn't want to go and he just packed up and left at some point last night." Riku summed it up pretty well. I glanced over at Namine to see that she had become a bit misty-eyed.

"Oh god…" She mumbled softly, her hand over her mouth.

"Have you seen him?" I asked, trying to stay calm.

"Yeah…he was here about an hour ago." She sighed, running her hand through her hair.

"Did he say where he was going?" I asked, hoping she knew.

"No, he just said he needed to get away from here…"

"He couldn't have gotten far in an hour! Which way did he go when he left?" Sora piped up, much to Riku's dismay.

"Uhh…well…about that…" Namine mumbled nervously, looking increasingly worried.

"What's with the guilty face…?" Riku asked; the observant one, as usual.

"I kinda let him borrow my dad's car…"

Face, meet palm.

**Roxas POV**

Well, this was just fucking perfect. After driving for at least two and half hours non-stop, I had no bloody idea where I was. It also didn't help that I was nearly out of gas. With the gas gauge hovering dangerously on E, I took the nearest exit and just barely made it to a small gas station. I filled up the tank and walked inside to pay, looking around at the various junk food and candy bars on the shelves. I was kinda hungry. I picked up a bag of chips and examined it.

"Hey there," an older, raspy voice called out. I spun around quickly; tossing the bag away like it was trying to bite me. I looked up to see that some creepy old dude with a scar and an eye patch was seriously invading my personal space.

"Uhh…hi." He looked vaguely familiar but for some reason that didn't comfort me. "You scared me…" I mumbled, reaching back for the chips I'd drop. "Do you need something?" I finally asked, attempting to side step around him.

"Where ya headin', kiddo?" He asked, blocking my only escape route with his arm.

"I'm pretty sure that's none of your business." I glared, frowning. Maybe I could yell and a store clerk would come and get the creep away.

"That's no way to talk to your elders; didn't your momma ever teach you manners?" He sneered, his yellow eye glittering mischievously.

"Shut up and leave me alone." I growled, pushing past him roughly. I hurriedly walked back out to the car, not bothering to get anything to eat. I just wanted to get back on the road. Anywhere would be better than this. After checking over my shoulder for the man, I dug through my pockets for the keys. They weren't in my jean pockets or in my jacket pocket. I looked around nervously, trying to remember where I may have left them.

"Hey now, don't you want a ride?" I nearly had a heart attack when I realized he'd followed me out here.

"No. I already have a car." I stated flatly. He sighed and looked around oddly. Unfortunately, no one else was around.

"So, why don't you start driving?" Shit…Great time to lose the fucking keys. He laughed a little. I turned back towards the gas station. If I kicked him, maybe I could run back inside fast enough and get away. "Guess we'll have to do this the hard way." He grumbled, getting annoyed. I leapt back as he lunged at me, but I was too slow. He'd twisted my arm behind me painfully, and I thrashed and flailed around desperately trying to get away. I opened my mouth to scream for help, but he covered my mouth and nose with some weird cloth. Everything started spinning, and I tried to kick some more but my vision soon faded to black as I heard a devious cackle…

-x-

"You owe me for this," The man was snapping. My eyelids felt heavy, and my head still hurt, but at least I was awake. I opened my eyes and looked around, trying to figure out where I was. "Yeah, well, I don't just go around kidnapping teenagers for just anyone," The man was talking to someone, but I couldn't see much. Apparently attempting to sit up would be pointless. Sometime between the gas station and where ever the hell I was now, someone had wrapped my wrists, and by the feel of it, my ankles in plastic cuffs. Who the hell has this shit just lying around? "Just hurry up and get him before-"

"HELP! HEY! Someone help!" I screamed, hoping someone around where ever we were would here. I heard someone get up. I tried to squirm away, but just ended up flopping around like a fish out of water.

"Before he wakes up," The man sighed, finishing his sentence. He put the tip of his shoe under my chin and lifted my head up. "Right, just get here soon."

"Get the hell away from me," I hissed, glaring up at him. It wasn't my best idea, but I couldn't just sit here quietly. "HELP!" I yelled again.

"Why the hell does he want you around?" The man sneered; he pulled his foot back and sent it flying into my stomach. "You're loud." Another kick. "You're disrespectful." Ow… "And overall, more trouble than you're worth." I curled up as best I could; trying to prevent another blow, coughing violently. I looked back at him.

"Fuck you," I gasped, trying to catch my breath.

"Your uncle is an idiot," he sighed, rolling his eyes. He took a step back and I squeezed my eyes shut, expecting another kick. He snickered a bit, before turning and walking away. I knew I should be worried about what he mentioned about Sephiroth, but my head still hurt and now my ribs were aching. Maybe I could just shut my eyes for a little longer.

_A/N: Poor Roxas! D: Reviews are always appreciated. 3 c:_


	16. Gone

_A/N: So, we're still kinda behind on updates. Sorry about that. But we're still cranking out chapters as fast as we can, so. xD Hope you like this chapter. :D_

**Axel POV**

"How could you possibly think it was a good idea to give him a freaking car?" Sora practically yelled.

"It's not her fault, Sora. She didn't know." I sighed, hoping he'd calm down soon.

"Guys, the car has a tracking thing on it. Couldn't we just use that to find him?" Namine piped up. Everyone fell silent; "I…kinda just figured it was common knowledge so I didn't mention it." She mumbled. Still, we were relieved. And as long as Roxas was at least close to the car, we'd be able to find him.

Riku, Sora, and I decided it'd be best to go back and grab a few things, leaving Namine to promptly steal and attempt to hack into her mother's laptop. After a short car trip, we ran around the apartment building, grabbing clothes and toothbrushes and the like. We figured it might take a while to find him, so we should be prepared. After the impromptu packing, we went to a nearby convenience store to buy some food and drinks. A few minutes later, Riku's phone rang.

"Hello? …They can? …Oh thank god… Okay, we'll be there in a few. Bye." Even though I only heard half of the conversation, it sounded somewhat promising.

"She figured it out. If we leave soon, we might be able to find him by tomorrow." Riku stated.

"Is he really that far away?" I asked, picking at the wrapper of the soda I was holding. One of the cashiers shot me a dark look as if I was about to run with the soda. I rolled my eyes, returning my attention to the problem at hand.

"Not necessarily." Riku explained. "But he might start driving again soon."

"Let's leave now!" Sora screeched, tugging on Riku's sleeve. And so we quickly paid for our supplies and went to go pick up Namine. As we pulled into her driveway, Sora leaned over and honked the horn obnoxiously, trying to get her to hurry up.

She walked out of her house carefully, glaring at Sora for rushing her, and balancing the laptop on one arm and a bag of her things on the other. Sora shrunk down a bit into the car, and I snickered. Shaking her head, she walked over to the car. After we got everything packed, we all piled into the car and followed the GPS signal.

-x-

The last few hours seemed like years, but at least we seemed to be catching up to him. If we kept going at this rate, we should be there in half an hour or so. The car hadn't moved in about an hour according to the car's GPS. Even though the signal on the laptop went on and off, it still didn't seem like he was going anywhere. Still, we were all getting anxious. Even Sora-who was probably freaking out the most- had thankfully calmed down too. It wasn't until after Namine slapped him upside the head, though. I decided to just zone out for the last bit of the trip and listen to some music. There really wasn't much else to do.

I was snapped out of my trance by the screech of the brakes, my head colliding with the seat in front of me, and everyone collectively having a heart attack. Startled by this, I looked up finally seeing the cause of these events. After hours of driving, we found Namine's dad's car in a fucking ditch.

I think my heart stopped. I ran out of Riku's car, and over to the ditch, hoping Roxas wasn't hurt…or worse. Sora, Riku, and Namine followed quickly. We searched the area and the car thoroughly and found no sign of Roxas anywhere. Although we did find his backpack still in the car…Why would he leave that behind?

"What are we supposed to do now?" Sora snapped, shooting a look at Namine to make sure she wasn't close enough to hit him again. "We have no way of finding him." I looked at the other too, but they seemed to agree.

"Well, why don't you call Seph-" Namine mumbled quietly.

"NO!" Sora and I both jumped at the idea. "That probably would be a really bad idea," I mumbled. Namine looked at the two of us then at Riku, as if pleading for help. He looked down.

"Guys," he started, Sora whipped in astonishment. We all knew where this was going. "Maybe you should just call him. Ask if he picked up Roxas yet."

"That's a bad idea, Riku." Sora protested.

"I'm going to have to agree with Sora on this one actually. What would Sephiroth do if he thought we lost him?" I added. Riku shook his head.

"We DID lose him. Sora, get out your phone, make the call, and see if he can help." Riku finally demanded, taking away the option part of the situation. Namine, who was a bit out of the loop, just nodded along with Riku. Sora looked to me for help, but I just dropped my gaze. I wasn't sure who to side with on this one. Frustrated, he grabbed his cell phone out of his pocket and dialed the number.

"This is not going to go well. I'm telling you guys that right now." He growled, holding the phone to his ear. He was probably right though. I highly doubted it would.

**Roxas POV**

Although it wasn't something that would logically come to the mind of someone tied up in the middle of nowhere, I was starting to get a bit bored. I looked around the room I was in…where ever it was. Probably about ten minutes ago, I'd woken up to see him leaning over me, waving his hand over my eyes.

"Oh good…you're alive." He sighed with relief. I glared at him, trying to push myself up a bit. He put his foot on my shoulder, pinning me to the floor. "Okay well, I gotta step out for a bit." He explained.

"Have fun," I spat, annoyed.

"Well, I just thought I'd ask if you needed help sitting yourself up." He smirked. "Or you could stay here, on the floor, with whatever injuries you might or might not have." I thought about his offer for a moment and sighed. "That's what I thought." He grabbed my shoulders, and I winced at the pain. I was still a bit sore from the kicking. He pulled me over to a wall and awkwardly leaned me up against it.

"Thanks, I appreciate that." I growled. The man glared at me for a second, before walking away. And that's how I've been for awhile.

-x-

"Hello?" I called hopelessly across the room. No response. "Great…" I was alone in this hellhole. Actually…maybe being alone could be a good thing. I could escape! "Is anyone out there?" I called out once again, just to make sure. Still no response. I decided now was as good a time as any, and started gnawing on the plastic that held my wrists together. After a few long minutes of struggling, I managed to get a hand free and quickly tore off the plastic that held my ankles together. Eventually, when I had finally freed myself completely, I stood up and quietly started walking toward where I'd seen the man go. I thought the exit would be that way.

The dank, dimly lit hall wasn't helping my nerves at all. I tiptoed swiftly down the hall, until I saw a door that lead to the outside. Freedom was mine!

"Hey kid!" The strange, old, eye-patch sporting man yelled; bursting out of a door I'd just passed. Screw stealth, I ran like my ass was on fire. If it was any other situation, any other people it'd probably be quite a spectacle to watch, me running around in zigzags, and him following. Unfortunately, the old bastard caught me again, ending the chase quickly. And I was only a few feet from freedom, too.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?" He screamed, "You really are more trouble than you're worth! Pretty sure I said it before, but I'd just like to restate that." And before I even knew what happened, everything was fading to black…again.

-x-

I awoke in a dark, cramped space. My head was pounding. I noticed my wrists and ankles were tied again…god damn it. And…was I moving? I heard traffic close by…really close. And then it dawned on me, I was in the fucking trunk of a car. I was just about ready to give up and just hope these psychos wouldn't kill me, and noticed a small blinking screen. It was probably hidden at one point but now, a small silver flip phone had managed to slide across the trunk, close enough to my hands that if I moved a bit I could grab it. I carefully picked it up, and lucky for me, it had one bar of battery left. Ignoring the reminders for two missed calls- from a number that looked slightly familiar- I slowly and quietly typed a text, saying "It's Roxas. Help me!" and sent it to Axel's number. I let out a sigh of relief, letting the phone drop out of my hands. I laid there thinking about the text…and realized how the hell was he supposed to know where to "Help me." Cursing to myself I squirmed around to pick up the phone again. When I heard the car slowing to a stop, I knew I was pretty much fucked, but it was worth a shot anyway.

Before I could even start a text, the trunk flew open and the same weird old guy grabbed me and flung me over his shoulder. The phone fell out of my hands and broke on the concrete below. Shit.

"What the…Kid! I swear…you fucking used that phone, didn't you?" The man screamed, holding me up by the collar of my shirt. I was helpless. "Fucking shit, I don't get paid enough to put up with this!" He clenched his fist, and I braced myself. As expected, he smashed his fist into my jaw, then my stomach. I sputtered weakly, spitting out a bit of blood. The hits kept coming and I struggled to get away, to no avail. The hits kept coming until he flung me down onto the concrete, and I passed out once again.

**Axel POV**

As expected, the call to Sephiroth was less than helpful. After twenty minutes of him and Sora arguing, we still had no idea where Roxas was. I was starting to lose hope, when my phone vibrated. I didn't recognize the number, but opened it anyway. It read, "It's Roxas. Help me!" I read it several times and I'm quite sure my heart stopped. He was in trouble. No doubt about it now. No more trying to convince myself he's fine. He's not okay. "-xel? Axel? AXEL!" Namine shouted, snapping out of my mental spiraling. "What's wrong?" She asked.

I couldn't do anything but mumble "Look." And show them all the message. Their reactions were similar to mine, except I think Sora may have had a small seizure.

"Okay, calm down. We can probably track the phone he used to get some idea of where he is." Riku managed to say. Even his voice was cracking a bit now.

No one really had anything to say at this point. We were all worried sick and had absolutely no idea where to even start looking for him. Namine tried to see if she could track the phone Roxas used and we had our hopes up for a little while. Unfortunately, Namine said the phone must've been broken after he sent the text, since she couldn't get a signal on it at all. She did say that the area code was from the Traverse Town area, so we headed that way.

-x-

It took a few hours to get to Traverse Town, and it was getting pretty late. There was still no sign of Roxas, though. Still we were all exhausted and stressed from today's events, so we decided to stop at a hotel for the night. After about ten more minutes of driving, Riku found a cozy looking inn. Figuring it would do, we gathered our bags and walked in. It wasn't anything fancy but it was still nice. The lobby was relatively small, but still well decorated. I didn't bother paying much attention to the décor, though. Riku went up to the front desk to get rooms, while the rest of us waited in the sitting area.

"Do you think we'll ever find him?" Sora asked quietly, talking to no one in particular. It was strange, he'd been so hyped up all day, and now he was just…melancholy.

"Of course we're going to find him." I assured him, even though the possibility that we wouldn't was weighing heavily on my mind. Riku walked over and handed Namine a small key, keeping the other for himself.

"We're on the third floor. The stairs are over here. I could only get two so Namine will have hers to herself, and I guess I'll take the couch." He said monotonously, walking to the staircase. I think we all desperately needed sleep. We walked to our rooms in silence, before splitting off and offering mumbled half-hearted 'goodnights.'

I walked into the small room and decided to take a shower. Maybe it would help me relax a bit so I could actually get some sleep. With a sigh I took a hot shower, which only helped a little bit. After brushing my teeth and getting dressed I figured I should try to sleep. I curled up under the sheets and attempted to rest. Such attempts were in vain, however, since I couldn't get thoughts of a hurt Roxas out of my head. Only a few moments later, I noticed my eyes were tearing up…_"They're manly tears, okay?" _I mentally tried to comfort myself. Thankfully, I managed to drift into some sort of sleep soon after.

-x-

At around 6, we all went down to breakfast. I didn't really feel like eating, but Namine insisted that we all at least try to eat. So there I sat, begrudgingly nibbling on a muffin and sipping coffee. Riku uninterestedly picked at his waffles as Sora happily ate insane amounts of toast. How that kid could eat like that and still be in shape was a mystery to me.

"Wonder what's up with that dude." RIku mumbled, glancing at a strange, older man with a long black and gray ponytail. He'd been going back and forth from the dining room to presumably his room several times. He'd probably brought at least two of everything on the menu. Sora glanced up, paused, and looked back at his toast, suddenly not looking as hungry.

"Isn't that Sephiroth's assistant, Xigbar? He sure looks like him." Sora added.

"_That's odd…"_ I thought, staring him down. The woman at the cash register was giving the man a weird look, which he growled at lowly. She looked back down, fumbling with the money and handing him the change. I rolled my eyes-not surprising that Sephiroth would hire someone like that. Still, a bit bothered, my gazed followed him as he passed our table.

"Stupid blonde brat. If Sephiroth would do his own god damn dirty work, I wouldn't be dealing with a punk kid right now." He snarled. Sitting on the very end of the table, it seemed like I was the only one who heard it. I stood up quickly, slamming my hands down to get a closer look as he headed down the hall. Riku, Sora, and Namine simultaneously looked over at me, confused. I turned back, trying to stay calm.

"I'll…be right back." I yawned, walking quietly down the same hall the odd man did. He seemed pretty preoccupied, but I stayed several feet behind him just in case. It wasn't long until he entered one of the larger rooms, and I stood just outside of the open door, listening.

"You have to eat something, you little brat!" He snarled, throwing the miniature boxes of cereal at something. I heard muffled complaints, but still stayed out of sight…for now. After a few more rustling sounds and what sounded like someone speaking in an annoyed tone, the man yelled again; "The bullshit I put up with, I swear." I raised an eyebrow, what the hell was going on here?

The man stomped out of the room, heading back toward the dining room. I jumped to my feet and made it just in time to seem as if I was heading into the door next to his as a precaution, but he didn't even give me the slightest bit of acknowledgement. I stood quietly, craning my neck every few seconds to look over my shoulder, making sure he was a decent distance away, and snuck into the room.

I couldn't believe what I saw. Across the room were blonde spikes showing over the other side of the bed. Moving closer, I could see Roxas sitting on the floor, gagged, with his wrists and legs bound. "Roxas!" I called out as I rushed over, immediately starting to untie him. "Are you okay?" I asked, holding him close.

"N-not really, but…listen, I'm sorry." He coughed, obviously in pain.

"Don't be. It's okay." I tried to soothe him, carefully standing him up beside me. I kissed him gently, keeping my arm around him as we headed toward the door.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Xigbar sighed angrily, glaring at me.

"No. We're leaving." I spat, glaring right back at him.

"As if. Ain't no way you're getting this kid, Flamesilocks." He taunted, inching closer to Roxas.

"If you so much as touch him, you die where you stand." I snarled viciously, only seconds before he roughly snatched Roxas away by his wrist. Before I even had time to react, he'd slammed him head first into the wall, knocking him unconscious. "Roxas!" I called out, but it was no use. He was out cold.

"I don't see why you care; the kid's worthless." He spat, carelessly flinging the limp boy onto the floor. There went my self control. I lunged at Xigbar and immediately wrapped my hands around his throat, digging my fingernails into his skin. He quickly head butted me and I lost my grip, stumbling back a bit. I shook it off and crashed my fist into his jaw; I quickly grabbed his ponytail and slammed him into the wall a few times. He managed to shake me off and threw me to the other side of the room.

"Why don't you just give up now? It's not like you can do anything." He sneered, chuckling darkly. Roxas was haphazardly flung over his shoulder, and they were right next to the door. I, on the other hand, was on the complete opposite end of the room.

"If you don't mind, _we'll_ be leaving now." He laughed, walking toward the door.

"Get away from him!" I screamed, suddenly feeling extremely warm; too warm, uncomfortably warm. The next thing I knew, the entire room was engulfed in flames. As I looked around, wondering what the bloody hell just happened, what felt like a metal bat crashed against my head. The last thing I heard was Xigbar's laugh and the roar of the fire as my vision faded to black.

-x-

"-xel? ...Axel?" A soft, yet worried voice called. I groaned, struggling to open my eyes.

"Where's…Where's Roxas?" I asked, sitting up.

"We don't know." Riku sighed, leaning against the charred wall. Namine put a small bag of ice against my head, looking concerned.

"Are you all right?" She asked, frowning.

"I'm fine, I-" I was cut off by Sora bursting into the room, looking shocked.

"Holy shit! What happened here?" He asked, looking around wide-eyed.

"It doesn't matter, we need to find Roxas. He's hurt." I tried to get up, but to no avail. I fell onto the blackened floor and everything faded to black again…

_A/N: Hope you all enjoyed the chapter. :'D And as always, we absolutely adore reviews. ^u^_


	17. Dreams

_A/N: Yikes, we're so so sorry it took us so long to update! We had super bad writer's block with this chapter and going back and forth on how to write it. D: So now it's 3am and we just got done with this. The reviews really motivated us to keep going, we read them and we're like 'we have to get this done D /persevere' and now it is. :'D Sadly chapters are going to be a bit slower now, with looking around at colleges and getting ready to go back to school. Still we're crossing our fingers that the delays NEVER stretch this long again. The story is wrapping up soon, and that's partially why we've been having trouble. We don't want it to end! So thanks everyone for sticking with us. 3_

**Axel POV**

"Hey, wake up." A familiar voice laughed. Did I black out again? It was hard to tell. Either way…I didn't want to wake up yet

"Come on, sleepyhead, wake up." The voice laughed again, shaking my shoulder. I begrudgingly opened my eyes, to see none other than Roxas laughing at me.

"Roxas! But…how? I thought you were…" I asked, in shock. What did I miss? Wasting no time, I practically clung to him. Thank gods he's all right.

"What are you talking about? You're such a weirdo sometimes." He chuckled, shaking his head. He nonchalantly handed me a stick of ice cream and turned to watch the sunset… Wait, the sunset? Where were we? I looked around to see that we were sitting on the ledge of the clock tower in Twilight Town. After a few moments of silent thinking, I frowned. I must be dreaming. Realizing that I needed to wake up and find the real Roxas before it was too late, I stood up.

"Where are you going?" He asked, frowning. I looked at him sadly, not wanting to leave. But before I could do anything or reply, a strong gust of wind or something came out of nowhere and blew me off the tower. I was falling.

"Axel!" He cried out, leaning over the edge. There were a few moments where I felt my heart stop and I braced myself, hoping this wasn't one of those dreams where you can feel pain. After awhile nothing happened, and I opened my eyes. I was still falling. The ground was quickly approaching, but when I reached it, it shattered away. Now everything was pitch black, except a small, glowing circle beneath me. Slowly, I got closer to the platform, eventually landing on my feet. How lucky…and odd.

I looked around, noticing the platform was made entirely of stained glass. I walked forward, careful not to put too much pressure in my steps, as to not break it. The platform was quite large; its colors were mostly shades of red and orange, as well as black. In the center was an intricate heart, surrounded by smaller circles with either flames or images of loved ones in them. Roxas…

Slightly off to the side, I saw myself sleeping. It was strange, though. I was clutching two weapons, chakrams, I think? They seemed familiar somehow…

"Do you know why you're here?" A strange, ambient voice asked. I looked around, hoping to find the source of the voice, but to no avail. I chose not to respond.

"He needs you." It called out again. I bit my lip, looking at the image of Roxas. I couldn't let him down.

"I know." I answered, walking to the center of the platform. This place…it was strange. Soothing, comforting, yet I still felt uneasy. As I stood directly above the heart, two chakrams materialized in my hands.

"Nothing will be simple. If you give up, it's over." I looked downward. I can't screw up again. Not with so much on the line. I stared at my shadow, noticing it was rapidly growing larger. It eventually split into eight equal portions and they each spun around the edge of the platform.

"But don't be afraid. You are the one who will save him." The voice whispered, as the shadows took on a human shape. My eyes widened as the shadows attacked. Without thinking, I flung the flaming chakrams at the shadows, slightly surprised at how they burned and faded away after each hit. It seemed too easy.

After I'd defeated all of the shadows, they reformed into a larger, more menacing shadow. It almost looked like…me. Nevertheless, I shook my head and lunged at it, flinging the chakrams at it. While I waited for them to return, I hurled small balls of fire at it as well. As I leapt to catch a chakram, its monstrous fist crashed into me. I fell back several yards, but still continued to fight.

Not long after, it fell and dissolved into nothing.

I panted, out of breath from the difficult trails. I glanced over to see a small ball of light forming into the shape of a door directly over the heart in the center of the platform. After catching my breath, I walked towards it.

"Axel…Remember why you fight." I nodded. Now that the weird shadows were gone, the chakrams dematerialized out of my hands. The voice called out one last time, as I walked through the door.

-x-

**Roxas POV**

Well, isn't this just fucking peachy? I'm still tied up in some god forsaken building somewhere and have no idea where I am. Not to mention all the cuts and bruises and probably cracked ribs or something. I've just been sitting here in the same spot for who knows how long. Heavy footsteps snapped me out of my brooding. Knowing my luck, it was that asshole Xigbar. Fantastic.

"Hurry up and go to sleep, brat." He spat, glaring down at me.

"Oh I am_ so _sorry, for being awake.Butit's kind of hard to sleep whilst tied up on a fucking concrete floor." I snarled back, glaring as angrily as possible.

"I swear, if your uncle didn't raise my pay, you'd be half dead by now. Although I have no doubt you're on your way there." He sighed, swiftly kicking me over. I landed uncomfortably on my side and smacked my face against the floor.

"Nighty night, brat." He laughed as he walked away. Good riddance, if you ask me. As much as I hated to admit it, I was pretty tired. Being kidnapped and beaten was enough to wear most people out, I would think. I guess it would be safe to sleep for a little while. I wiggled around on the cold floor and tried to get as comfortable as possible, before shutting my eyes and forcing sleep.

-x-

"C'mon Rox, it'll be fun!" He insisted, tugging lightly on my arm like a spazzed out kid.

"Oh fine, if you really want to." I joked, already half out the door. Axel had come to the door early this morning, banging on it loudly. Riku and Sora didn't seemed too pleased with the alarm, but ignoring their rants I went and got dressed before following Axel out of the building. Axel and his crazy schemes, I swear.

Still at least it was a pretty nice day out, and the train station was pretty close by. We walked hand in hand for the three blocks it took to get to the station. It was a really nice day to be out, actually. It wasn't too warm or too cold, and there was a nice breeze.

"Where are we going, anyway?" I asked, glancing up at him. The train station was an odd place to start a date, especially since I had no idea where our stop would be.

"You'll see." He chuckled with a wink. I rolled my eyes lightheartedly, shaking my head. He moved in front of me bought our train tickets, so I would see the destination. I raised an eyebrow at him but he didn't say a word, and we took our seats on the train. I absentmindedly stared out the window as the train started to move.

"So, you aren't going to tell me then?"

"Nope." He replied simply, running his hand through his hair.

"Why not?" I asked, pouting slightly.

"It's a surprise, silly."

"Pretty please tell me?" I asked, batting my eyelashes jokingly. He laughed for a moment before shaking his head.

"We'll be there in an hour or so, that's all I'm saying." He winked, putting his arm around me. I sighed lightly; it seemed my curiosity wouldn't be satisfied today. Oh well. I snuggled up to him and before I knew it, I dozed off.

-x-

I woke up to a warm hand cupping my cheek and a gentle kiss. I opened my eyes, briefly noticing that the train had stopped. Yawning, I sat up, I glancing out the window to see that we were at...the Twilight Town station?

"We're in Twilight Town?" I asked.

"Yep, I thought it would be fun to hang out here for a while." He smiled, standing up.

"This is gonna be awesome, let's go!" I grinned, excited to be back in Twilight Town; even if it was only for the day.

We left the train station and decided to just wander around. Eventually we ended up walking down from Station Heights to Market Street and then ended up in the Tram Common. We walked around there for a bit and bought random trinkets for no reason in particular. Afterwards, we went down to the Sandlot and played a few lighthearted struggle matches, which usually ended the same way, with me struggling to get out of Axel's arms as he grabbed me around the waist.

With a few hours left before sunset, we wandered back to the Tram Common and decided to check out the forest by the Old Mansion. There wasn't much else to do until sunset and we hadn't seen anyone we knew yet, so why not?

I walked along a slightly worn path, looking up at the sunlight that filtered through the treetops. It was always beautiful in here, if not a little creepy. I heard a strange rustling noise behind me and spun around. But nothing was there, not even Axel. I looked around a bit more and I didn't see Axel anywhere. It was weird; he was right beside me a minute ago.

I heard another rustling noise, but closer this time. "Axel?" I called out, "Where are you?" I waited for a moment and didn't hear anything. He'd better not be messing with me. I kept walking, figuring I'd run into him eventually. After a few minutes, I started to really wonder where he was.

"Axel?" I called out again, and once again heard the rustling sounds.

"Gotcha!" He yelled, practically tackling me to the ground. I hate to admit how unmanly the shriek I let out was. Axel, of course, started laughing hysterically, essentially collapsing on top of me. After a brief moment of glaring, I laughed too. It was pretty funny, even if it was at my expense.

"Oh my god, Rox, that was hilarious." He managed to choke out in between laughs.

"Tee hee, ha ha, so funny." I laughed sarcastically. He sat up, still straddling my waist. Feeling cheeky, I quickly bumped his back with my knees, sending him falling forward. He managed to catch himself; his face hovering just inches over mine. He raised an eyebrow, looking at me inquisitively. I flashed a half grin and shrugged, wrapping my arms around his thin waist.

He leaned down, resting his forehead on mine as he held me close. I could feel my cheeks heating up; I was probably blushing. He smiled softly and brushed his lips against mine gently, meanwhile snaking an arm around my waist. I leaned up into his kiss and tangled a hand into his hair, humming contentedly. He lightly licked my lower lip, wanting to deepen the kiss. I smiled and opened my mouth ever so slightly. He wasted no time in sliding his tongue into my mouth, massaging mine with his.

I sighed happily, running my free hand along his back and mimicking his actions. We stayed that way for who knows how long when he finally broke the kiss. I frowned, not really wanting him to stop. He smirked and lightly tapped my nose before leaving a chaste kiss on my lips. After a small hug, he stood up, holding out his hand. I rolled my eyes jokingly and grabbed his hand, letting him help me up. He quickly dusted himself off, and before I knew it, he dusted me off too; but not without copping a feel first, of course.

"Woah!" I exclaimed, eyes wide.

"What?" He asked, raising an eyebrow.

"You, uhh…yeah." I mumbled, blushing furiously.

"You had dirt on your butt." He shrugged, gently grasping my hand. "Anyway, it's almost sunset."

"You have something planned?" I asked, glancing up at him.

"Sure do; ready to go?"

"Yep," I replied, still a bit dazed. We ended up walking back to Station Plaza, but not before buying some sea salt ice cream. I absentmindedly nibbled on my ice cream, still holding Axel's hand.

"So…we're leaving already?" I asked; feeling a bit confused.

"Of course not; we haven't even watched the sun set yet." He laughed lightly as we climbed to the top of the clock tower. Once we got to the top, we looked around for a bit, before deciding to sit on the edge. We sat in silence; just watching the sunset and eating our ice cream. After we'd finished the oh-so-awesome sea salt ice cream, we decided to stick around a little longer. The sun had almost set completely, and the cool breeze was enough to make me shiver a bit.

"Cold?" He asked, pulling me closer. I nodded, nuzzling into his chest. Since he was always oddly warm, I ended up in his lap.

"It's getting kinda late…What time did our train back leave anyway?" I mumbled though his shirt, still clinging to him. He glanced at his phone for the time and went silent.

"So…uh…the train left like an hour ago." He mumbled sheepishly.

"What?" I asked, looking up at him.

"Hey, it's okay. I figured this would happen." He grinned, looking rather proud of himself.

"Oh really?" I asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Yep. We've got a room at the hotel by the Tram Common." He answered, still smiling.

"Okay, who are you what did you do with my boyfriend? He's _never_ this prepared." I teased, poking his cheek. He playfully nipped at my finger and rolled his eyes.

"I'm not _that_ bad." He joked, ruffling my hair. I glared lightheartedly and smacked his shoulder lightly.

"Besides, you look pretty tired. Wanna head to the hotel now?" He asked, nuzzling my neck.

"Sounds good," I yawned lightly. And with that, we walked back to the hotel. It was a gorgeous night; the stars were gleaming brightly and the dark sky was clear. It was pretty rare for the sun to completely set in Twilight Town, so we picked a great night to visit. It didn't take long to get to the hotel, since the streets were pretty deserted by now.

We walked through the stained glass door to the hotel, and I decided to wander around the small lobby while Axel checked us in. The lobby was well-decorated, with potted plants and paintings lavishly placed throughout. There were several plush looking couches in various parts of the lobby, making it look pretty fancy. After a few minutes, Axel walked back over to me, and handed me the key. I stuffed it into my pocket and we walked out of the lobby.

When we reached the elevator things seemed to finally register. Axel had said he'd planned something nice and now I was standing next to him, feeling oddly self conscious up, to _our_ hotel room. I shifted nervously from one foot to the other, trying not to let my mind wander. He didn't seem to notice however, just watched nonchalantly as the floor number rose. It seemed like an awfully long wait for only eight floors. With a small chime the doors slid open and Axel stepped casually into the hall. Glancing nervously around, I stepped out as well. After a few seconds of walking with my eyes glued to the carpet and my face red, I collided with Axel. He looked down with a smile.

"They key, please?" He said trying not to laugh. I blinked up at him for a second and nodded, fumbling through my pocket and producing the key. As soon as it was in my hand, it was on the floor.

"Shit," I mumbled, reaching down and picking it up. Axel ruffled my hair playfully.

"Stop acting like we just robbed a bank." He teased, not trying to hide his laughter. He pulled it out of my grasp and opened the door. "After you," he teased again, gesturing for me to walk in. I kept my eyes glued to my shoes, since my mind was racing and my heart was pounding. We were in a fancy hotel room for heaven's sake! I'd seen the movies, I knew what always happened. My face felt like it was on fire, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when I felt a hand on my shoulder.

"…You okay?" Axel asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Huh? Y-yeah, why…why would you even ask?" I replied, hoping for a smooth recovery.

"Right. Well, I kinda figured we'd missed the train, since it leaves pretty early. So I'll take the couch," he yawned slightly, running his hand through his red locks.

"…What?" I practically shouted, since I was so nervous and all.

"…Wait…what were you thinking?" He asked, a sly grin finding its way to his face. I was silent for a little too long and my face seemed to match his hair. "I mean, hey, that works too-"

"Shut it!" I stammered, slightly relieved. I jumped on the bed, kicking my shoes off and letting my ankles dangle over the edge and closed my eyes. See? I told myself. There was nothing to worry about. I could just relax and get some sleep. It was a nice place and the bed was pretty comfortable. There was a rustle from the other side of the room and a shift in weight by my side. Opening one eye, I saw Axel, who was now sitting on the bed, staring down at me. I tried not to smile, shutting my eyes again. "What?"

"I got lonely." He pouted, twirling a piece of my hair. I swatted his hand away.

"You're the one who said you wanted the couch," I replied.

"Well, I didn't think you were going to sleep like right this second. It's not even that late yet." He tugged at my arm and in one swift move, pinned me. I turned bright red again, my eyes shooting open.

"B-but…" I stuttered.

"I know, I know." He teased. "And nothing's going to happen. I just kinda figured I could kiss my boyfriend. Is that cool with you?" He raised an eyebrow and I glared halfheartedly.

"Fine," I muttered, blushing profusely.

"Awesome," he laughed, leaning closer to rest his forehead on mine. He gently pressed his lips against mine and wrapped an arm around my waist and the other under my shoulders. Since he decided to stop pinning my arms, I wrapped them around his neck and pulled him closer. Before I knew it, his tongue was swirling in my mouth and I'd followed suit. After a bit of this, I pulled away, looking at him skeptically.

"There's no way you really planned all this."

"Why do you say that?" He laughed his mouth moving to my collarbone. I shivered a bit.

"You're not that smooth," I muttered. He looked at me with a dark smile.

"Of course I am." He said with a wink. I rolled my eyes and pulled him back down into the kiss. I moved my hands through his hair, pulling him- if possible- closer. We broke off so I could catch my breath. Axel sighed happily, resting his head on my shoulder. "See. We should do this more often." I nodded. There were a few minutes where no one spoke.

"Axel, are you even awake?" I demanded. His laughter was muffled into my shirt and I rolled my eyes. "At least let me get comfortable before you pass out."

"But I'm good right here," he mumbled. I yawned lightly and curled up close to him and he pulled the plush blankets over us. Just before I fell asleep, I felt him put his arm around me and nuzzle my neck, mumbling "'Night Roxy." I smiled softly and drifted off to sleep.

-x-

**Riku POV**

I woke up in a cold sweat and out of breath; I'd just had the strangest dream. I winced slightly as it all came back to mind in a rush. It started out innocent enough; I was back at Destiny Island swimming in the shallows, until an unnaturally large wave swept me out to sea and under the waves. I tried to swim up, but it was no use. I sunk, but started falling through air onto a beautiful, yet eerie platform of stained glass. A wise-sounding, disembodied voice spoke to me and I had to fight many strange monsters, as well as a giant one. Unfortunately, the largest of the monsters seemed to drag me into its shadow and I woke up. Thank gods it was just a dream…

-x-

**Sora POV**

It had been such a long day and I was so tired. Too much had happened lately. My head was killing me and did I mention how exhausted I was? I sighed, trying to get comfortable on the small motel mattress, and glanced around the room. Riku and Axel we're both already asleep, although a while ago I could have sworn I saw Riku jolt awake before nodding off again. It seemed no matter how tired I was, I was still the only one up. Finally I decided it'd be best to just go to bed and deal with everything tomorrow. After I'd gotten comfortable and curled up in the soft blankets, I eventually drifted off to sleep.

-x-

You never realize how loud doors and floor boards can be, until you're trying to be stealthy. Having woken up at way to early, I was already bored of lying in bed staring up at the ceiling. The apartment was silent since Riku was still asleep and Roxas –not that I was happy about it- was not home, and the silence it's self along with boredom was driving me insane. I started towards the kitchen, but thought better of it, turn into the other bedroom quietly. Feeling confident in my ability to go unnoticed, I tiptoed close to the bed ready to pounce on Riku and wake him up.

"What are you doing, Sora?" Damn. He hadn't even moved or opened his eyes. I stayed quiet, hoping maybe he'd go back to sleep. I could almost hear Riku roll his eyes as he sat up and looked over to the desk I was hiding behind. "You're so weird."

"And you're so boring." I retaliated, playfully hopping up on the bed. "I was going to scare you."

"Riiight; maybe in your dreams, silly," he teased playfully, ruffling my already messy hair. While I was busy gazing out the window plotting my newest 'Scare Riku' plan, he smirked and flipped us over, pinning my wrists above my head. I struggled to free myself, but it was no use. It was so unfair that Riku was so much stronger than me.

"Aw, come on Riku, seriously?" I whined, still wiggling around. "That's not fair." All he did was switch to holding both of my wrists with of his hands and started grinning kinda evilly. My eyes widened and he started tickling me with his free hand. I started laughing uncontrollably and thrashing around, trying to shove him off. By the time he stopped, I had tears streaming down my face from laughing so hard. Even though the dreaded tickling had stopped, he still didn't get off me. But instead, he leaned down to kiss me softly. I blushed lightly as he finally released his grip. We sat and I leaned against him, rubbing my wrist.

"That didn't hurt." He said, watching as I did. I stuck out my tongue.

"Yes it did." I lied, glancing up at him from the corner of my eye. He lifted my chin and smiled.

"You want me to kiss you and make it better?"

"You're supposed to kiss my wrist." I said holding up my hands with a glare.

"I like my version better." And he lightly pressed his lips to mine. I pushed him away playfully.

"Not even eight in the morning and you're already being incredibly cheesy. Must be a new record," I teased.

"I'm sorry but remind me who jumped in my bed this morning?" He smirked. "Any way I've been up for a while so I had time to plan all my lines out." I bit my lip to contain my smile.

"Fine; whatever you say," I laughed, pushing him down into the pillows before pressed my mouth on his. His eyes grew slightly at the sudden attack but wrapped his arms around my waist, his hands on my lower back. He wasted no time in deepening the kiss; I didn't mind. After a while, I broke the kiss and he frowned slightly. I shrugged and sat up, still playfully straddling his waist.

"So, what are the plans for today? Since it's just me and you," I grinned cheekily, punctuating my sentence with a wink.

"I'm fine with this. Just hanging out with you," he replied nonchalantly. I couldn't help but feel a substantial blush building up in my cheeks. He sat up and gathered me close in his arms. I glanced up to see he had a serious expression on his face…Did I do something wrong?

"Sora…I need to tell you something." He stated, sounding a bit strained. I suddenly felt nervous and wondered if this was going to be bad news.

"W-what is it?" I asked, trying to keep my voice stable. Of course, he saw right through that and reassured me that everything was ok.

"Don't worry, it's nothing bad." He explained, "It's just…we've been friends for so long and I've always _liked_ you and now's a good a time as any and-"

"What is this about?" I asked, starting to wonder if this wasn't really bad news. He sure was acting weird. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"Sora, I love you." He managed to say, biting his lip as he waited for my response. I tried to stay composed for a minute or even a second. It didn't work. I wrapped my arms around his neck and pulled him into a quick kiss.

"I love you too!" I grinned widely; I hadn't been this happy in a long time. I practically flung myself onto him and he fall back onto the bed. Overjoyed, I excitedly pressed my lips to his again and he embraced me tightly, kissing me back. This was going to be a great day.

-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-

When morning finally came, it wasn't bright and sunny. It was still cloudy and dark, a sort of premonition of the day's events. No one was in the mood for sunlight anyway. The morning was not exactly something to be welcomed this time. Not Roxas who was still on the ground abandoned for the moment by his captor, Riku whose head was splitting and was still tired from tossing and turning all night, Sora who seemed ready to break down at any moment despite the momentary happiness brought by a nice dream, or Axel who was frustrated with himself for losing Roxas and the situation they were all in.

Today was going to be a long day.

_A/N: We hope you all liked this chapter! And as always, we love reviews. 3_


	18. Rescue

_A/N: Since there was some confusion about the last chapter, we'd like to clarify that the vast majority of the chapter consisted of Axel, Riku, Sora, and Roxas's dreams. xD Sorry about the confusion, we were trying out a new style._

**Axel POV**

I couldn't sleep after that dream I'd had. It just…stuck with me for some reason. But, I can't really worry about it now. There are more important things to do; such as getting Roxas the hell away from Xigbar and his uncle and whoever else. I was snapped out of my thoughts when Riku told me it was my turn for the bathroom.

I walked into the relatively small bathroom and took a quick shower, not really paying attention to much of anything. A few somewhat relaxing minutes later, I stepped out of the shower and got dressed. After everyone had finished their routines, we went down to the dining room and had a bit of breakfast. It wasn't anything special; just the usual cereals, fruits, and various pastries.

My mind wandered back to the little weekend trip Roxas and I took a few weeks ago. I couldn't help but smile at the memory; it really was a good time. We'd have to go on more trips in the future. After we find him; that is…if we find him…

I was snapped out of my thoughts by Namine's soft voice. "Axel, where do you think we should look today?" She asked, looking as concerned as ever.

"Everywhere," I replied blandly.

"Sounds like a good enough plan to me." Sora chimed in, taking another bite of his bagel.

"We should narrow it down so we can search more thoroughly." Riku sighed.

"Well, if you were an evil bastard that kidnaps innocent teens, where would you hide him?" Sora asked. I had to chuckle a bit at his wording, but thought about his question.

"Well, there are plenty of suspicious basements in the bars around town; and some creepy alleyways and abandoned buildings in the sketchy part of town. I guess the old warehouse on the south side of town is pretty stereotypical too." I replied, carefully recalling as many places as I could. For once, I was somewhat glad I grew up in Traverse Town. At least I knew it like the back of my hand.

-x-

In every movie and show I'd ever seen, splitting up never ended well. It always ended up causing some sort of problem, be it comical or serious. But since we'd already wasted so much time just sitting around this morning, it seemed like a decent option. Now that I think about it, it probably wasn't the best idea to let Sora and Namine pair up. I wasn't entirely sure Sora could fend for himself, let alone Namine as well. And although Namine probably _thought_ she could defend herself, reality was harsh. In all honesty, she's a tiny girl. It's too late to go back now, so we just have to keep looking.

Riku and I scanned the streets, searching fervently for any sign of Xigbar or Roxas. We doubted they'd keep him in plain sight, but it couldn't hurt to look. We stopped by the old department store, Moogle Mart, to see if they knew anything. Those shopkeepers were always gossiping about everything. Riku decided to talk to them, since they never trusted me anyway. We walked through the scratched up automatic doors into the store, and I wandered around looking for signs of Xigbar or Sephiroth while Riku talked. I texted Sora to see how they were doing, and he replied almost instantly with "nothing yet, this sucks." I sighed, and Riku signaled for us to leave. Apparently they didn't know anything. With that, we left for our next destination. As we walked to the old diner, Sora called. I absentmindedly listened to Riku's end of the conversation, as depressing as it was.

"What? No, Sora...We didn't find him yet…Don't worry, we will…Just keep looking…okay…Bye." And with that, he sighed and hung up.

"They haven't found anything yet either, have they?" I muttered, kicking at a stray stone on the sidewalk.

"Nope, Sora's losing hope again. And Namine's as pissed as ever." He chuckled the last part, and shook his head slightly.

"Okay where to now, then?" I sighed, rubbing my eyes. "There are a few other stores and shops we can check, I guess."

"It's better than doing nothing."

We started walking again stopping every so often to lean into stores and ask a few people. There weren't many that even looked interested in helping either. For the most part, we'd ask and they'd smirk before walking away. I never really liked the people here; they were always too stuck up.

We basically went door to door to every shop in the districts, asking anyone and everyone we could. Very few even spoke to us, and the ones who did were less than helpful. It was discouraging, but there's no way we're going to give up now.

At around 3 in the afternoon, Sora and Namine called again. I didn't pay much attention, preferring to keep looking around. Riku eventually told me we needed to take a break, because Sora and Namine were hungry. It was probably for the best anyway, since we'd been searching all morning. Still, when the food arrived, no one moved to start eating.

"Eat. Everyone," Namine snapped, picking up her fork and stabbing a piece of lettuce from her salad. I stared at her, ready to comment, but Sora beat me to it.

"Namine, not to be…blunt or anything, but you're awfully…forceful?" Sora muttered. I snorted with laughter. Not how I would have worded it, but it was Sora.

"At least I'm not walking around with my tail between my legs." She sighed, putting her fork down. "It seems that Riku and I are the only ones with a rational attitude at the moment." Riku looked down, as if avoiding any coming tension.

"What the fuck did you just say?" I spat. How dare she say something like that?

"Nothing that isn't true." She sighed, taking another bite of her salad.

"Well _excuse me_ if I'm upset that my boyfriend's been kidnapped, is probably hurt, and we have no fucking idea where he is!" I practically screamed, grabbing my soda and walking away. I barely made it a block away from the diner before Riku caught up to me.

"Hey, man, don't take it personally. Everyone's just really stressed out and upset by all of this." He murmured, putting a hand on my shoulder. I chose to stay silent. Riku eventually nodded and excused himself to make a phone call. And after about ten minutes of listening him argue with Namine on the phone, we set back out to look for Roxas. We were originally going to switch groups, but Namine wasn't having any of that, insisting that she and Sora could handle themselves.

Meanwhile, Riku and I decided to ask around the local mini-mall, hoping for some answers. We pulled people aside left and right, yet most of them simply told us to get lost. And there was one elderly woman who attempted to mace me for some reason. She was probably senile enough to think I was going to mug her. Although the clothing store clerk, a middle aged woman, seemed to be willing to help.

"Have you seen a man with a long, black ponytail and an eye patch?" I asked. It seemed that question was becoming my own personal mantra.

"Sorry sir, I haven't seen anyone like that." She frowned, still folding shirts.

"Do you know anyone who might have any information about him?" I asked, almost to the point of begging.

"Well…My husband's friend might know something. He's such a gossip; he always knows everyone's business." She clicked her tongue and shook her head in disapproval.

"Really? What's his name and where can I find him?" I grinned, hoping for the best.

"His name's Cid and he owns the auto shop downtown. He's usually there." She smiled softly.

"Thanks so much." I called over my shoulder, already dragging Riku out the door. It took us a while to get there, but when we reached the small auto shop, we finally found Cid. We decided to ask him about everyone involved, just in case he knew of any of them.

"Well boys, I haven't seen that Sephiroth character, but there was some big guy with a scar around here earlier. He didn't say much. Just asked the same kinda questions you are. Didn't see any kid with him though," said Cid, the man who owned the shop. Ironically enough, he was the last person we would think to talk to, yet he gave us the best lead we'd had so far.

"Did you notice where he went?" Riku asked, hoping we weren't pushing our luck.

"As a matter of fact, I did." Cid said happily. "Almost left without his phone, so I had to catch up with him."

"Really?" I replied, a little too hopefully. "Where…?"

"Well, he headed down toward that old warehouse. It was the weirdest thing, I thought. But he's probably around there somewhere." I left a quick "Thanks," and ran out of the store, toward the old warehouse. Riku was already on the phone with Sora, and he and Namine were going to meet us right outside there as soon as they could.

-x-

"It seems a bit…stereotypical. Don't you think? The abandoned warehouse thing?" Sora muttered, glancing around nervously. "Like…it's just kinda cliché."

"Well, I'll just let them know when we see them. Like, hey, we appreciate your efforts in kidnapping, but next time can you do us a favor and pick a less cliché hiding place? Maybe something more original? Thanks; we'd appreciate that very much." I growled sarcastically.

"Hey, whenever you guys are done whining, we can start looking over there." Namine called, pointing down a certain row of the parking lot. "There's a car over there. Not anything big, but it's a start." I turned to look where she was point and realized she was right. There was a dark truck parked off to the side of one of the buildings. We walked over.

I could tell Sora, who was walking a few feet in front of me, was dying to say something. And this time I actually had an idea of what it might be. This was slightly poor planning on who took Roxas part. It just seemed too simple; almost planned, even. I wasn't surprised however, when Sora tugged on the door only to conclude that it was locked. There goes that idea. Deciding to look inside the warehouse now, we walked over to the nearest door. Of course, it was locked as well.

"What now?" Sora asked.

I rolled my eyes and walked to the door, ramming it with my shoulder a few times. Riku watched for a bit before, stepping in to help. "On the count of three?" I offered and Riku shrugged. "One…two…three" We each slammed a foot into the door, causing it to fly open. It banged against the back wall before swinging back weakly.

"Okay, that works," Namine said happily, strolling in, followed by Sora, then Riku and I. Even after breaking down a door…it still felt too easy. Shaking my head, I started to look around. The warehouse was much larger than it appeared to be from the outside…

It was dimly lit, with various light bulbs flickering and buzzing on and off. Spider webs clung to nearly every surface, along with a thick layer of dust and dirt. Our footsteps echoed off the bare concrete floor as we walked further into the warehouse. Old tools and metalwork littered the floor, as well as a few forgotten tables. It looked like a scene out of a horror movie. Creepy shit. We eventually made it back to the four main halls and after half an hour or so, had inspected three of them thoroughly. No sign of Roxas yet.

Suddenly, we all heard a strange crashing sound relatively nearby.

"W-what was that?" Sora asked nervously, his voice shaking. I think the atmosphere of this place was getting to him.

"Let's check it out." Riku answered, staying stoic.

We walked into the fourth and final hall, which seemed to be the source of the sound. The farther we walked in, the louder the scuffling sound became. Eventually, we ended up in front of a large metal door. It had a tiny window near the top, and fortunately I was tall enough to peer inside. What I saw nearly made my heart stop. A beaten, battered, and bloody Roxas struggled and writhed on the floor, bound by ropes and tape.

"ROXAS!" I practically screamed, trying to get his attention. His head snapped up to look toward the window, and I heard him try to yell something, but it was muffled by his gag.

"Hang in there, Rox! We're gonna get you out of here, okay?" I yelled again. He nodded in response. Right as I was trying to figure out how to get through that door, I heard a deep, gravelly voice screaming at us. All four of us whipped around to see the man glaring down at us, his eyes furious.

"Just what the fuck do you dumbasses think you're doing?" Everyone stayed in a shocked silence for a moment; we'd been found.

"We got los-"

"Don't even bother lying." The man seemed to be losing patience quickly. "Just get the hell out. NOW!" No one made a move to follow his orders.

"Good fucking luck with that! We're not leaving until we get Roxas back!" I moved forward meeting his gaze with a deadly glare. He didn't flinch. Riku turned his attention to the door which Roxas was behind and began to pull at it, trying to force it open.

"I don't really care what you think," he replied, glancing over towards Riku without much emotion. "And good luck with that." He laughed, guarding the door. "Anyway, we got hired for this. I'm just doing my job," he smirked.

"Wait…we?" His smile only grew wider. Riku stopped messing with the door and we both turned around. Sora and Namine were gone and a blonde woman stood in their place, leaning against the one of the hallway's walls. She raised an eyebrow and greeted us with a twisted smile.

"Hello kiddies," she teased in a sickly sweet tone, "seems like you're two short of your full party."

"Oh fu-" I started, before getting smacked with the back end of a gun. I recoiled from the hit and backed up against the door, hearing Roxas struggling frantically behind the door. A few moments later, Riku ran off after the large man with dreadlocks, yelling back something about Sora and Namine.

Seeing Xigbar's fist flying toward my face; I dodged it and ducked under his arm and kicked one of his legs out from under him. Now that he was off balance, I lunged and smashed my fist under his chin, knocking his head upward. I glanced around, and noticed the blonde woman was guarding the door. God damn it. In the split second I used to look away, Xigbar had recovered and tackled me to the ground. I struggled and flailed wildly to escape his grasp, but he had my arms pinned and was fucking strong for an old guy. After a few seconds, I managed to kick him off and roll far enough away to leap back onto my feet.

"Aww, someone miss their little boyfriend?" He cooed, before laughing insanely.

"Shut up!" I screamed, lunging at him again. He stepped out of the way and I nearly slammed into the wall. While I was trying to regain my balance, he tackled me down again. I struggled as much as I could, but he kept me pinned under his weight and landed countless punches. I could feel bruises and welts forming already, but kept fighting back. Finally, I got one of my arms free and smashed my fist into the side of his face. While he was stunned, I kicked him off yet again and stood up, bracing myself against the wall. I couldn't lose this fight.

"You can't win this, kid." He taunted, stalking closer to me.

"Wanna bet, old man?" I snarled, matching his movements. I just hoped he wasn't right.

He lunged first, shockingly fast. I didn't know what hit me until I was pinned to the floor, struggling to escape Xigbar's grasp.

"Just give up. You're not gonna get him back." He laughed sinisterly. At that moment, something snapped in my head. With a surge of adrenaline, I planted my feet on his chest and kicked him off of me; quickly leaping to my feet.

"I…have had…ENOUGH!" I screamed, throwing my arms outwards. I felt the flames forming around me, licking at my skin, although it didn't hurt. Eventually, strong tendrils of fire swirled down my arms, manifesting at my fingertips into the form of two chakrams. They spun rapidly as they phased into existence, spitting flames in every direction. I gripped both chakrams tightly; all rational thoughts were out the window. All I wanted to do was make them all pay.

I lunged again, throwing the flaming chakrams at him. He seemed to disappear into thin air, before quickly reappearing on the ceiling with two…arrowguns? Great, like this wasn't difficult enough already. Before I could even blink, strange bullets were raining down on me; but thankfully I could burn them away. He leapt off the ceiling, flipping down towards me, still shooting. I jumped back and rolled away; jumping up again when I'd gained some distance.

"Head's up!" He sneered, trying to antagonize me as he fired endless bullets.

"**Burn!**" I snarled through gritted teeth. I ran closer to him and surrounded us with a ring of flames from floor to ceiling; he isn't going to get away this time. He rained another barrage of bullets at me, but I deflected them with a chakram.

"You won't get him back, kiddo." He laughed.

I screamed in utter frustration and rage, letting the flames around me feed off the emotions. They grew and hissed; spreading, consuming everything around them. I stalked closer to the man; shaking, my breath quivering from the adrenaline pumping through my veins. I clutched my chakrams in each hand, waiting until I was in point blank range.

"Guess what happens now?" I taunted, grinning. I didn't wait for a response before I flung the chakrams at him, each hitting their mark perfectly; one into his chest and the other into his leg. He wouldn't be putting up much of a fight now. I extinguished most of the flames and turned, walking back to the closet where Roxas was kept.

-x-

**Riku POV**

"This is a bit pointless don't you think?" Xaldin hissed through grinning teeth. I frowned at him, glancing over at Sora and Namine who were tied in the corner. My eyes narrowed into a glare.

"Let them go," I said in a low growl. Xaldin broke into laughter, twirling one of his blades around in his hands.

"I'd really rather not," He said lunging forward. I jumped back, stumbling a bit. I tried to regain my balance quickly, hurrying in time to dodge the next attack. He struck again and this time there wasn't a chance for me to dodge. I tthrew an arm up in defense, squinting my eyes shut and hoping I could recover from the blow in time. The sound that followed was metal on metal.

"What the-" I closed my hand around the sword that had appeared and smirked. In actuality I was just as shocked as Xaldin. I pushed back with my own blade and jumped back. "Where the hell'd you get that?" He demanded in an anxious voice. Ignoring him, I sliced forward. His sleeve was caught by the edge and he flinched slightly. The shock had thrown him off a bit, which put us on a much easier playing field for me. I swung again, catching the side of his face. "You trying to kill me kid?"

"Just returning the favor," I said. My gaze flicked over towards Sora for a second. He looked frightened. "Shit…" I mumbled in my head. I swung again, a false swing that he dodged easily, and when he was distracted I slammed my shoe into his stomach. He stumbled to the ground, coughing. "No I won't sink to that level." I flipped the sword in my hand and smashed the handle into the side of his head. He fell limp.

After making sure Xaldin would be out for a while, I turned back to Sora and Namine, who were still tied together tightly. My gaze flickered around the room quickly, hoping no one else was around to attack us. With careful precision, I cut the ropes that bound them. Sora rubbed his wrists, frowning. Namine quickly piped up, "Uh, guys. Let's get the hell out of here before we get jumped again." I laughed briefly and nodded in agreement. "Yeah, let's go."

We decided to run for it, after hearing footsteps not too far away. Barely even a minute later, a knife flew past my head as we heard high pitched giggling. "Thought you could get away that easily?" Larxene laughed, throwing a few more knives at us. I quickly grabbed Sora and shoved him behind me, against the wall. I heard Namine gasp as a few knives grazed her skin, leaving several cuts. "You bitch!" She shouted, stomping her foot. She angrily ran to Larxene and promptly slapped her a few times, before shoving her away. "RUN!" She yelled, gesturing at us to hurry up.

**Axel POV**

"Roxas!" I called out, banging on the door of the closet where he was kept, "Are you all right?" I looked through the tiny window to see him shaking his head "no." He looked like he'd been beaten again while I was off fighting Xigbar. I heard footsteps coming toward us again, and prepared for the worst. Luckily, once I got a closer look, I realized that it was just Riku, Sora, and Namine. With a small sigh of relief, I started working on the lock. Of course, it had to be a heavy, rusted out padlock. Riku and I immediately slammed ourselves into the door, but it didn't even budge. The door was too heavy to break down. Namine sat on Sora's shoulders, looking in at Roxas. "Guys, he's freaking out in there, hurry up!" She yelled. "We're trying!" Riku said back. Fed up I pointed the chakram at the door and blasted the lock off. There was a silence as we stared at the sizzling, melting lock. I pushed the door open and ran in.

"ROXAS!"

_A/N: OHMYGOD. /flails/ we're so sorry there hasn't been an update in months. Truth be told, this chapter was kinda hard to write. Really. Fight scenes are not Missa's strong point and both of us were having tons of writers block. And then life-senior year, college apps, classes- all that dumb, not fun stuff got in the way. But we are back! Just in time to finish up the fic. Updates are going to start coming out regularly, but we've reached the last 5-ish chapters. So, thanks so much for sticking with us through our absence. Let's finish this thing D /dramatic music_


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